Smigel Bridge

Smigel Bridge in front of the old mill

Smigel Bridge spans the Smigel Burn at Achiemore in Strath Halladale. There are two bridges here, that now carrying the A897 is a modern concrete structure carrying a single track road between pavements. This bridge may have originally been built wide enough to take an S2 road, but it is likely that it is too narrow for modern traffic. It appears to have been built in the 1970s, but is not yet shown on the 1973 OS One Inch map.

Old Bridge

The old bridge lies a short distance up stream from the new crossing, and is listed online as having been built in 1850, along with the adjacent corn mill and a nearby chapel. However, the bridge carries a number of features common on bridges built using the designs of Thomas Telford in the 1820s and 1830s, such as battered abutments and parapets which curve down at the ends. It is therefore very similar to other surviving bridges along the A897, one of which carries a datestone of 1820 and another has been dated to 1823, by which time Joseph Mitchell, a former apprentice of Telford was working on roads across Sutherland in his role as County Surveyor, including the route of the A897. With vegetation between the two bridges, it is difficult to get a good view of the downstream side of the bridge, but the upstream side is easier to see.

The siting of the bridge means that it spans over a dramatic waterfall as the burn tumbles steeply down past the mill. This also means that the new bridge spans considerably higher above the water than the old bridge does.