between
Fort William and Inverness. It saw the first action of the "Forty-Five"
when government
reinforcements were prevented from crossing it. It was replaced
by Telford's Spean Bridge in 1819.
 |
Map showing High Bridge on
Wade's Fort William to Fort Augustus road. Based on 1/4 inch
OS map of 1923. With thanks to Ordnance Survey. |
The
bridge is easily reached by footpath from the Commando Memorial
just north of Speanbridge which accesses a viewing point. A metal
walkway was installed in 1894 due to the dangerous condition of
the bridge, but is no longer safe to use and is to be removed.
Gartanrode
This
appears in the Itinerary of Edward I in 1303 when he was staying
at Lochindorb. It is usually identified as being near the Boat
of Gartan.
The name is interesting as it suggests a road. However, Louise
Yeoman in the Boat of Garten community newsletter BOG
Standard, Winter 2012 (page 18) suggests that it may have
been a fortified site near Boat of Garten called Petriny Motte
(on Mains of Garten farm); effectively, the rath of Gartan, where
"rath" means a fort. This was a Comyn stronghold and
would give a good reason for Edward to come here.
Despite
the "rode" probably not being a road there does seem
to have been a road in this area - this was the Rathad na righ
or king's road as mentioned by the Rev. W. Forsyth in his In
the Shadows of Cairngorm (chapter
XXV, page 205) and which may have been linked to a king's
highway at Inverallan to the north.
Recommended
sites
Atlas
of Scottish History to 1707
The atlas is now online at the ScotlandsPlaces website. Illustrated
with maps and explanatory text, it covers all historical periods
up to 1707.
A
number of the topics are very relevant to roads. Roman roads are
covered over several pages showing the network in different periods.
Pictish, Cumbric, Gaelic, Anglian and Viking placenames give an
indication of where early routeways might have been as do the
royal itineraries included in the atlas, as well as invasion routes.
Numerous other pages, such as those for trade, also suggest routes.
The atlas
has been produced by the Scottish Medievalists and the Department
of Geography of the University of Edinburgh.
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"Rambles
on Old Roads" will be produced four times a year.