Aberdeenshire is a big county. The other day I found myself beside the Bridge of Potarch on the River Dee, 50 miles from home but still in Aberdeenshire. I had never stopped there before to admire the bridge, but on this occasion I parked in the adjacent layby on the road between Banchory and Aboyne and took out my camera. I was sure there would be a picture there.
The arches of the bridge make a very pleasing shape with the waters of the Dee flowing past pink rocks. Built by Thomas Telford and opened in 1813 to the convey the old military road which made its way from Edinburgh over the Cairn o’ Mounth and eventually ended up in Fochabers, later extended to Fort George, near Inverness. There was a network of military roads built by General Wade and others in the post Culloden days to help subdue the Highlands after the 1745 rebellion. Later I drove along a portion of that road from the south side of the bridge as I headed to Strachan and Finzean. From there the military road climbs up and over the Cairn o’ Mounth as it heads south.
The other claim to fame of the Bridge of Potarch is the great feat of strength of Victorian strong man, Donald Dinnie who managed to carry two huge stones over the bridge in 1860. But I was not inspired to try any great feat of strength but to try to take a few pictures, despite the grey overcast day.
Then Lily, Poppy and I went for a walk along the Deeside Way footpath. The damage caused by the flooding in December during Storm Frank was very evident, although repairs are now underway. There was plenty of grass and other vegetation caught up on fences and trees where the water had risen and flooded the fields. You can see it quite clearly in the picture I took when I posed Lily and Poppy at a picnic table. The flood even damaged the old bridge, but fortunately it is now repaired and hopefully will stand for many years to come.