Hope Bridge

Hope Bridge

Hope Bridge crosses the River Hope just below its outflow from the narrow Loch Hope. The loch lies in a steep sided valley between the hills of North West Sutherland, and so the road climbs steeply away from the bridge to either side, the tiny settlement of Hope clustered along the road on the steeper Eastern side of the river. The bridge itself is a single span concrete bridge with a wide, shallow arch carrying a single track road with pavement on the upstream side. The upper sections, including the parapets are clad or built in stone. Although the bridge itself is straight, the wing walls at the eastern end curve southwards with the road. The abutments are stepped out and wider than the spandrels, with this extra width being carried up to the tops of the parapets.

History

Maps from c1900 still mark the Hope Ferry across the river at the very foot of the loch. Sattelite imagery suggests there is still a slipway on the western side, and the road up from the river on the east bank survives as a property access. The first bridge appears to have been built before the roads were classified in 1922, and the abutments can be seen on both sides of the river immediately upstream of the current bridge. As the current bridge appears to date from the 1950s if not earlier, it has to be assumed that the previous bridge suffered some damage and had to be replaced.