Appin Bridge

The district of Appin covers a large area of north Argyll, with many bridges in it, however between the villages of Portnacroish and Tynribbie, which together are generally called Appin village, there are two bridges at the head of Loch Laich. Unfortunately, very little is known about either crossing, and neither seems to have an official name.

Tynribbie Bridge

Crossing the bridge at Tynribbie

Although crossing the smaller stream, the bridge between Kinloclaich and Tynribbie is the more interesting of the bridges in Appin. It is a single span concrete bridge faced in stone and with stone parapets. Unlike its neighbour (below) it doesn't have a datestone, but in appearance it matches the bridges dated 1939. The carriageway is a full S2 with pavements on either side. The northern approach to the bridge has been realigned since 1922. Originally, the road approached along the river bank, having taken a sharp right turn at Kinlochlaich to run between fields, then a sharp left turn along the river to the bridge. The current approach was presumably built along with the new bridge.

Standing immediately downstream of the current crossing is an older stone arch bridge, still occasionally used by farm traffic. It is overgrown, the roadway covered in turf, and the parapets have partially collapsed, but still feature some strange conical stones over the northern abutment. What can be seen of the bridge shows some features associated with the Highland Bridges of Thomas Telford, but whether this was a bridge built under his commission for Highland Roads and Bridges or simply used the plans which he made freely available is unknown. Its small size would suggest the latter.

Glenstockdale Burn Bridge

This is a concrete bridge dated 1939 spanning the Glenstockdale Burn approximately half a mile north west of Tynribbie Bridge. Due to trees and undergrowth on the river banks, it is almost impossible to get to see the bridge, but it appears to be a single wide span over the burn. As with most other bridges on the A828 built at the time, it is faced with stone and surmounted by stone parapets.