Inverscaddle Bridge

There is currently more than one Inverscaddle Bridge, one of which is an interesting structure. The River Scaddle flows out of the Cona Glen into Inverscaddle Bay, which is a wide low lying area of salt marsh, often flooded with high spring tides. The current line of the A861 just about stays above high tide line, but there are signs warning of floods, which can happen especially in stormy weather. On the south side of the bay, the road cuts a straight line on a shallow embankment, criss-crossing the old remnants of the old road with its abandoned concrete slab bridge over one of the many tidal creeks. The main river splits in two above the road, so that the road crosses both channels via the island between. The northern channel is mainly tidal.

South Bridge

The southern bridge is a modern single span concrete deck bridge built on a shallow curve. It must have replaced an older concrete bridge, but there is no evidence remaining of any previous structure here. The bridge is almost wide enough to carry two-way traffic, but there is a wide pavement on the upstream side.

North Bridge

The current northern Inverscaddle Bridge

The northern bridge is far more interesting. It is still the original concrete structure, of three spans with a slim concrete deck spanning between the abutments and supported by the two pier in the often dry river bed. The concrete, however, is in poor condition and so a metal bailey type bridge has been erected over the top. This rests on concrete pads on top of the original piers and abutments, thus creating a bridge over a bridge. The resulting roadway is narrower than the concrete bridge would have carried, and runs on metal plates with a thin coating of tar on top. There are actually five metal spans, an additional one over each bank to bring the road fully across the damaged structure below. The parapets are metal railings and there is no pedestrian provision, although with the river channel often dry, it can often be easily crossed on foot if there was a queue of traffic on the bridge!

Old Bridge

The two bridges described above replace an older bridge which once stood some distance up stream. Tracks lead up either side of the river to access houses and the glen beyond, and these follow the lines of the old road. However, the southern approach has been reclaimed by the farmer and is only marked by a line of trees across the field. This leads to the crossing point situated just downstream of a bend in the river, where a simple estate bridge now spans the old abutments. The date of this bridge, indeed the date of the road up the west side of Loch Linnhe, is unknown, but it is likely that it was a single arch stone bridge that once stood here.