300 years of Carrbridge history

The old packhorse bridge at Carrbridge – the oldest stone bridge in Scotland and a "must see” for any tourist venturing near the village – is 300 years old this year.

Although severely damaged by the "muckle spate” of 1829 which devastated much of Strathspey, the bridge has survived many floods since then and deserves to be celebrated for standing so long.

I’ve seen it many times but just had to take a look before starting this circuit from the village’s sizeable free car park – a sort of pilgrimage, I suppose.

After viewing the arch spanning the River Dulnain, we walked south along the main street in the direction of Aviemore and turned left into Carr Road.

At the end of the street a green signpost appears on the right pointing to Boat of Garten via Carr Plantation.

As we walked towards the gate into the pinewood, a scarecrow dressed in a roadman’s yellow jacket caught my eye in a field on the left. There wasn’t a crow in sight so he seemed to be doing his job well.