Moy Bridge (Loch Laggan)

As the A86 passes the ruinous farmstead of Moy on Loch Lagganside, it crosses the Moy Burn on a bridge constructed in 1993 when this section of the road was upgraded. However, immediately to the south of the modern alignment is a much older piece of road which appears to date back 200 years to the time when Telford first built a road from Spean Bridge to Laggan. This old road also crosses the Burn, on an interesting bridge.

The New Bridge

The new bridge across the Moy Burn

A wander along the old road at Moy clearly shows why a new route was needed. The old road is narrow and while the current steep decline between the two alignments is obviously modern, it is still steep and twisty as it winds past the ruined house. The bridge is dated 1993, putting its construction several years after the old house was abandoned to the elements, but nevertheless the new road is much straighter and wider.

The bridge itself is a wide concrete arch span, very similar to those being pioneered in the Highlands back in the 1930s. It has been faced in rough stone to limit its visual impact in this scenic area close to the Cairngorms National Park.

The Old Bridge

Telford's bridge, with its 1930s addition

There is little doubt that the old stone-arch bridge on the abandoned section of A86 to the east of Moy house was constructed by Thomas Telford some 200 years ago. There is also little doubt that it was widened in the 1930s. The evidence for this is clear if you slip down the bank between the old and new bridges, as the northern side of the old crossing has a concrete arch tacked on. The real surprise, perhaps, is how narrow this addition is. Had the bridge been widened since c1960, it is almost certain that the extra section would have been about as wide as Telford's original, but before the war vehicles were generally narrower and so a few feet was all that was considered necessary to bring the bridge up to standard.