Bridge of Gaur

The Bridge of Gaur, also known as Victoria Bridge, lies at the western end of Loch Rannoch, and connects the South Loch Rannoch Road back to the B846. Immediately to the west of the bridge, on the south bank of the river is Rannoch Barracks, a large Victorian house on the site of the Barracks built after the Jacobite Rebellions, and probably the reason why the bridge was originally built.

The Bridge

There is some doubt as to the date of the bridge standing, as it is quite clearly dated 1838 on one side, but the date stone on the other parapet seems to state that the bridge was constructed with money from the forfeited estates, which puts it into the second half of the 18th century. As Kinloch Rannoch Bridge was built the same and is dated 1764, a date in the 1760s seems plausible.

What is known is that the bridge was rebuilt after it was partly carried away in a flood in 1838.

The bridge consists of 3 stone arches, rising slightly in the middle. The piers seem to have been strengthened at some point, with larger cutwaters, but otherwise the bridge is as it was built. There is even a little decoration, with a simple cornice above the arches and slight pilasters on the piers, not that either are easy to see as the bridge is shrouded in vegetation at each corner, with no obvious access to the riverbank.