Honeymoon Bridge
| Honeymoon Bridge | |||
| Location Map ( geo) | |||
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| From: | Ardgarten | ||
| To: | Rest and be Thankful | ||
| Location | |||
| Glen Croe | |||
| County | |||
| Argyll | |||
| Highway Authority | |||
| Transport Scotland | |||
| Opening Date | |||
| 1940 | |||
| Additional Information | |||
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| On road(s) | |||
| A83 | |||
| Crossings related to the A83 | |||
There are two bridges on the A83 across the River Croe in lower Glen Croe. They both lie close to each other, and allow the road to avoid the difficult little hill known as the 'Little Rest', which can still be walked from the forestry car park. The upper bridge is where the old and new roads meet one another again, while the lower bridge is hidden in trees and difficult to get to.
The Name
The name 'Honeymoon Bridge' has a tragic tale behind it. It seems that at Christmas 1949 a young couple set off for a drive in a hire Standard Vanguard as a second honeymoon. Somehow or other, the car came off the icy road at one of the two bridges, and ended up in the river. However, despite the damaged parapet being noted on Boxing Day and quickly repaired, the missing car and couple were not discovered for some time.
They were, of course, reported missing from their home, but it was early January when the womans body was washed up on the shore of Loch Long, and the next day a thorough search of the river revealed the car deep in a hole in the riverbed. The car seems to have broken in two, and took two days to lift out of the water. The husbands body was still missing, and it took another two days to find him.
The Lower Bridge
Although hidden in trees and so almost impossible to see, the lower bridge appears to be similar to the upper bridge. The parapets are different, being straight and having small openings with balusters in them, but it has to be assumed that the bridge itself is a twin-span concrete structure clad in stone. As the bridge crosses the river at an acute angle, the parapets are offset on either side of the road. The bridge is dated 1940 on the parapet.
The Upper Bridge
The upper bridge, located where the new and old roads re-converge, is a fairly typical two span concrete structure, clad in crazy-paving style stonework and with stone parapets. As with so many bridges in the area, the pavements are pinched across the spans, although only by a comparatively small amount in this instance. The precise date of the bridge is not known as yet, but the late 1930s or 1940 seems probable. It was certainly open in 1949 when the accident occurred.
Links
| Honeymoon Bridge | ||
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