Dunans Bridge

The Allt a'Chaoll Chlinne passes under three bridges in quick succession as it becomes the River Ruel at Dunans. However, only the first is officially known as Dunans Bridge, and it doesn't even carry a public road. It is, however, a very important structure designed by Thomas Telford in 1815 which gives access to Dunans Castle. Hidden from the road, down a steep access road which turns sharply to cross the bridge at right angles to the A886, the bridge spans a steep gorge to reach the castle on the east bank. It is important because in many ways it is unusual. Telford was well known for his work with the commission on Highland Roads and Bridges, building around 1000 bridges in the space of 20 years. To meet budgetary constraints, however, these bridges were all very plain and undecorated. Dunans Bridge is the complete opposite.

The bridge consists of three arched spans, built in the Gothic style. The two outer arches are narrow and pointed, flanking a wider arch with a shallower point. The two piers rise between 15 and 16m from the river banks below, making it one of the tallest small bridges in Scotland, certainly the tallest in Argyll. The piers rise from the banks as Octagonal turrets, becoming fully Octagonal at the parapets, and so projecting into the roadway to provide long pedestrian refuges as opposed to the smaller ones normally provided within the piers. Matching octagonal turrets flank the abutments, with a string course between them at road level. The parapet is raised slightly in the centre to accommodate a shield with the date 1815. The roadway is drained by gargoyles.

Road Bridges

The A886 crosses the river approximately half a mile downstream, below the gorge, on a modern single span concrete bridge carrying an S2 road between pavements. In between the two, and now lost in trees is the site of the older road bridge, next to the south lodge for the castle. Little information on this bridge is available online, and it hasn't been visited, but it is presumably a single stone arch across the river. As some sections of the A886 were built by Telford and the commission, it seems highly likely that this bridge is a Telford design, probably also built around 1815.