Grumbeg Bridge

Grumbeg Bridge

Grumbeg Bridge carries the B873 over the Allt Gruama Beag on the north shore of Loch Naver. It is an unusual design, making use of a rocky outcrop between two channels of the stream, while also appearing to be a curious amalgam of old and new. The basic structure appears to be two stone arches, one over either channel, with a substantial central pier and battered abutments on either bank. These elements all show features generally associated with the bridge designs of Thomas Telford, and subsequently used by his apprentice Joseph Mitchell when he was county surveyor for Sutherland. However, the bridge has been shorn of its parapets - replaced with a course of concrete supporting metal railings. There are also concrete block appendages to the abutments, and some unexplained piece of stonework on either bank. One of these almost looks like a section of the parapet which has been laid down beside the stream in one piece.

At opposite corners (NE & SW) the abutments have substantial triangular projections, which almost suggest they were part of a previous crossing, although they point away from each other. The bridge abutments also extend further along the riverbank than would be normal. Add all this together, along with early mapping evidence which shows a bridge on a different alignment (this could simply be a mapping error), and there is substantial evidence that the bridge standing today has been substantially altered, if not completely rebuilt since the stream was first spanned, probably in the late 1820s.