Sluggan Bridge Traditional Cache
Teuchters: Cache is dead. RIP
A relic of when folk actually went out for a walk rather than bagging caches in lay bys.
How things have changed.
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
A pleasant walk to an old bridge.
The first bridge allowing the Dulnain to be crossed when it was in spate, was built in what is now Carrbridge between May and November 1717 by a mason called John Niccelsone. Competition was soon to arrive, however, because when General Wade built his military road north some years later, it crossed the Dulnain three miles to the west at Sluggan Bridge.This present beautiful, single span bridge was constructed in the early 1830s, following the destruction of the previous bridge in the great flood in 1829. The rapid replacement of the bridge emphasises the importance of these roads to the civil population, long after the marching soldiers had departed. Recent renovation and installation of hand rails has allowed the bridge to become part of the off road route of National Cycle route 7 - see also "On yer Bike" cache (Strathspey # 2)Lime-kilns, originally used in the construction of the bridge, are located among the birch trees west of the bridge.It was Thomas Telford who eventually decided which bridge would become the most "popular". When he reconstructed the Highland road network in the early 1800s, he abandoned Wade's line in favour of a road using Niccelsone's 1717 bridge at Carrbridge. This bridge remained in use until the side walls were badly damaged in the same flood in 1829 which demolished the Sluggan bridge. Amazingly enough, what was left by the 1829 floods still remains as a fragile looking arch across the river a few yards to the west of the modern road bridge at the north end of the village. If the garage next to Niccelsone's bridge is open, you can see what it must of looked like in the "Great Flood" as there are photos of a similar, more recent event.Telford's route was used by the later builders of the A9, which ran through Carrbridge until the "new" A9 was built in the late 1970s on a line a little to the west of the village.In this cache, there is part of the location of a Strathspey bonus cache. You will need to visit each of these caches to get the full set of coordinates:CraiggowrieRyvoanSpeybankBurma RoadSluggan Bridge
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ng onfr bs snyyra gerr