Ardoch Bridge

Ardoch Bridge at Braco in Perthshire is an ancient structure, of unknown origin, but certainly predating the village of Braco which has grown up to the south west. The neighbouring site of Ardoch Roman Fort could mean that this has been a crossing point of the River Knaik since c140AD when the fort was constructed, if not long before.

Today, there are two bridges standing across the river.

The Old Bridge

The older of the two arches across the River Knaik is the 'packhorse bridge'. Built to a width of just 5'6", it is reputed to date back as early as the 1430s. In 1742, Major Caulfeild drove his Military Road north through here, using the old bridge as a crossing point. At the time, a second arch was added to widen the roadway to about 9 foot, 2.7m, although this later collapsed in 1896. Indeed, the information boards at the bridge are a little confusing, and it seems that what we see today is actually largely a reconstruction from 1989, using the original abutments.

The New Bridge

The New Bridge

Standing immediately to the south of the old bridge, the new bridge which carries the A822 across the river is a concrete arch structure, enclosed in rubble, which closely resembles similar bridges built across Scotland in the 1930s. Sadly, it does not carry a datestone, so precise dating is not possible at present.