Bridge of Couttie

The Bridge of Couttie spans the River Isla just to the north of Coupar Angus on the A923. It was built in 1766, and while this is contemporary with the extension of the military road south from Blairgowrie to Coupar, the bridge seems to have been built first, with the road subsequently routed across it. This goes some way to explain the unusual kinks in an other wise straight road to reach the bridge.

The widening is easy to see

The bridge is a rather magnificent structure, consisting of 5 arches with the largest in the centre. This causes the roadway to rise up over the central arch in a slight hump. The bridge carries a narrow S2 roadway, having been widened in the 19th Century. This widening is obvious from the sides, as it was widened roughly symmetrically on each side, by extending the cutwaters to take additional arches. These arches are wide, but the same height as the originals, so the arch rings of the original arches can be seen inside the newer ones.

The whole bridge is built of a reddish coloured sandstone which incorporates a string course across the tops of the arches. Above this, the shallow parapets have obviously been repaired in places following accidents, and this has led to substantial concrete kerbs being added to the sides of the roadway, which does not have pavements.