In a nutshell: Poldullie Bridge, Strathdon
According to the RCAHMS, the Poldullie bridge “crosses the dark, winding Don by a single 70-foot rubble span of considerable grace.”
I
t was built in 1715 by Sir John Forbes of Inverernan.
Sadly, Sir John didn’t have much opportunity to enjoy his creation. He was a follower of the Earl of Mar, who had thrown in his lot with James Stuart, ‘the Old Pretender’. The Jacobite clans, under the Earl of Mar, clashed with British government forces at Sheriffmuir near Perth on 13th November 1715. The battle was inconclusive, with both sides claiming victory; but Sir John was among those taken captive, and he was one of the poor souls thrown into the prison at Carlisle Castle. He died in 1716, the day before he was due to be executed.
We photographed the bridge on a dreich November day when the trees were dripping with rain and the light was already fading in the mid-afternoon.
Poldullie Bridge was used as a filming location for the movie ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ (released January 2019) starring Saoirse Ronan.
Sources:
- Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland
- ‘Jacobite Stories’ by Dane Love
- Engineering Timelines
- The Forbes Clan
Photos copyright © Colin Woolf
Further reading
You might also like to read about Fraser’s Bridge in Glen Clunie, which you pass as you travel north from Glen Shee towards Braemar.
12 Comments
Ash
Driech ?
Jo Woolf
Dreich = old Scots for ‘miserable and damp’. Very useful for describing the weather! 🙂
blosslyn
Can you walk over it, it looks very interesting 🙂
Jo Woolf
Yes, you can actually drive over it, Lynne, although I wouldn’t want to be doing so in a bus! It’s only about 8 feet wide.
blosslyn
Is it a road to some where or is it just going to what looks like an Island……
Jo Woolf
It joins the two roads that run on either side of the river – it’s only a very minor road but yes, it does go somewhere! 🙂
blosslyn
Thank you Jo, just curious, it looks like it goes to some lovely little island 🙂
Jo Woolf
I think it’s the bend in the river that creates that effect, and it certainly looks like it! We didn’t have time to explore further that day, but it’s so beautiful up there – we will have to go back.
dancingbeastie
Poor Sir John. We visited Carlisle Castle a couple of years ago, and I was very moved to see the dark, cold dungeon cells in which the Jacobite prisoners were held. What a sad end.
Jo Woolf
Yes, indeed. I haven’t visited Carlisle Castle myself, but I’ve seen it on a TV programme and it looks to be one of the darkest and most threatening in atmosphere. Dreadful.
Elizabeth
The bridge is featured in the Mary Queen of Scots movie 2019, you can no longer drive over the bridge but you can still walk over, if you follow the road round to the left it takes you to the church where they say Queen Victoria and John Brown Love child is laid to rest (so the story goes)
Jo Woolf
Thank you, Elizabeth! I read that recently too – I look forward to seeing it. Wow, that’s an interesting story about Queen Victoria! Not sure how likely, but quite scandalous anyway!