Bonar Bridge
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[edit] Geography
Bonar Bridge (Ordnance Survey grid reference NH610915) is a village on the north bank of the Kyle of Sutherland, in the Parish of Creich in the County of Sutherland, Highland Region, Scotland, United Kingdom.
The Kyle of Sutherland ("the Kyle" for locals) is a a river estuary of the Rivers Oykel, Cassley, Shin and Carron that all enter the Kyle above the bridge at Bonar.
The estuary (downstream) and the rivers (upstream) separate Sutherland from Ross and Cromarty to the south, and the estuary opens into the Dornoch Firth to the east.
[edit] Getting there
Road by Car: The village is at the junction of the A836 road with the A949. The A836 leads north towards Lairg and Tongue and east over the Kyle to run along the south bank of the Dornoch Firth to the A9 near Tain. The A949 runs east along the north bank of the Firth to the A9 near Dornoch, at the other extreme of the Dornoch Firth bridge that takes the A9 over the Dornoch Firth from Tain here.
Bus:
Rail: The village is 1 mile (1.6Km) from Ardgay railway station which lies south of the Kyle. Ardgay is on the Far North Line, the railway line linking Inverness with Wick and Thurso. For a long time, Ardgay Station (NH600904) was called Bonar Bridge Station.
[edit] History
[edit] Bronze-age and Iron-age
Evidence of pre-historic inhabitance abounds in the area with many ancient hut circles and cairns. One recent excavation done by the Time Team UK Television program can be seen here. It excavated a small Henge and a Crannog (artificial island home) in Loch Migdale.
[edit] Viking Period
Viking invasion of Caithness and Sutherland: Sutherland was named so as it was southern for the Norse of Orkney who named it. (state my source).
[edit] First Modern Settlements
The oldest records of local place names (on North side of the Kyle) found on maps are (in order from oldest) Sordel (Swordale, from Norse name) which is now a part of Bonar Bridge and has Swordale Farm, Little Swordale (Sordel Beg) which is now abandoned, Creich (sometimes with Little Creich called out), Migdale then later Tulloch . A name "Eam" occurs several times towards Invershin, past Drumliach. One such map is this manuscript Sutherland, Strath Okel & Strath Charron of Robert Gordon's from 1654 or this beautiful map from the Bleu Atlas of 1654, both found in the National Library of Scotland.
On the South side of the Kyle, MidFearn (Ferne 1573 [1]) is the oldest location shown, with Kincardine (with its church) appearing next.
[edit] Ford
Originally, the Kyle of Sutherland and the rivers feeding it were crossed where Bonar Bridge lies, and at other points downstream such as Creich (where the small "Stell" ferry ruin still stands) and at what was called "Portnacoulter" (Meikle Ferry) and upstream at what was called Portinleck (Culrain-Invershin) by small ferry boats (or Cobbles) and much further upstream by small bridges (e.g. Oykel bridge).
[edit] The Bridges
The Bonar Bridge site provided the best point to ford the water without having to travel too far West to cross a bridge. Thus it was the preferred place to cross while droving cattle from the North and North East to Market further south. The fording point lies slightly downstream from the current bridge, more or less where the "Bonar shot" salmon fishing station was, below the old ice-house below Dornoch Road.
The First Bridge
After the defeat of the Highland clans at Culloden, and the "taming of the north" a network of highland roard were constructed by the government, with many done by General Wade at the end of the 18th century.
In November 1812 the first bridge (photo) was constructed across the Kyle at Bonar Bridge by Thomas Telford after considering sites at Meikle Ferry (considered too wide), Creich (considered still wide) and "Portinleck" (between Culrain and Invershin) which is further up the estuary (requiring a longer journey around) and would require a second bridge across the River Carron. A new road was built between Bonar Bridge and Creich closer to the shore, the old road used to pass behind Bonar through Swordale (past Swordale farm and Orden farm) along the top of a low hill past Little Swordale before dropping back down to the coastal area at Creich. With these developments Bonar Bridge became a crossroads for traffic to the North, North West and North East, and the village grew. (state citation from NSaS...)
Second Bridge
Photograph
Third Bridge
Dornoch Firth Bridge
Since the construction of the Dornoch Bridge (see a Photograph) further down the estuary (to the east) and other roads direct to the North West from Dingwall, traffic and commerce has decreased.
[edit] Toponomy
The Scottish Gaelic word for ford is “Àth” (pronounced “Ah”). The Kyle of Sutherland had a ford here and it became called “Am Ban Àth”, “Ban” meaning 'fair', which would be "Fairford" in English.
Over time “Ban Àht” became recorded as:
- - "Banna" - on this 18th century map [2] as part of "Banna Ferry").
- - “Bona” - on this 1730 military map [3]).
- - “Bonar” - on this 1744 map [4]) as part of "Bonar Ferry".
- - "Bonar" - after the 1812 construction of the first bridge at this site.
Thus the evolution of the name reflects the evolution of the water crossing at this point:
FairFord -> FairFord Ferry -> FairFord Bridge
Locals refer to the village as “Bonar”, usually dropping “Bridge” and pronounced as if it didn't have an “r” at the end, no doubt an oral legacy from its original Gaelic name.
[edit] Historical Events
[edit] Battle of Drumliadh (?)
The second Statistical Account for Scotland (page 18 of Sutherlandshire section) states: "In the 11th or 12th century a contest of the inhabitants with the Danes is recorded to have occurred at Drin-leah (Drum Leadh), near Bonar Bridge, whence the invaders were driven back with great loss to their ships at Portnacoulter, - now Meikle Ferry. The extraordinary number of tumuli (Cairns?) or graves on the scene of [the] action, while they attenst the truth of the tradition, and the greatness of the slaughter, cannot fail to excite the wonder of reflecting persons at the great numbers who must have been engaged and the consequent density of the population at that remote time". This event doesn't appear in other sources I know of or local lore, but I have found the site marked as a battle site on this map in the National Library of Scotland. Contributions welcome!
[edit] Battle of Carbisdale
The Battle of Carbisdale took place in 1650 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms close to the village of Culrain, which lies to the West of Bonar Bridge. The battle was fought between the forces of the Scottish Covenantor Government and royalist forces loyal to the King, led by James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. The royalists were defeated.
[edit] Jacobite Battle
In 1746 the Earl of Cromartie and his forces who were travelling to meet Charles Edward Stuart were attacked by the Clan Sutherland near Bonar Bridge, in Munro country. The Earl of Sutherland himself had already escaped south to join the Duke of Cumberland's army after his lands had been wasted. However, many of his clan still remained in the hills, commanded by a man from Golspie who attacked the MacKenzies. Most of the Jacobite officers were captured, many of the men were killed and the rest were driven onto the shore where several were drowned trying to swim the Bonar Firth. Thus Clan MacKenzie were prevented from joining the Jacobite army at the Battle of Culloden.
[edit] Loss of the first Bridge
The first bridge at Bonar (the Telford Iron bridge built in 1812) was lost in a flood in 1892.
[edit] Migdale Hoard discovered
May 1900 [5] The original report on the discovery of the Loch Migdale hoard was written by J Anderson in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 35 (1901), p266. A priceless collection of early Bronze Age jewellery was discovered by workmen blasting a granite knoll behind Bonar Bridge, near what is known as "Tulloch Hill". Dating from about 2000BC, the artefacts are in the custody of the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh. The Migdale Hoard includes a bronze axe head, bronze hair ornaments, sets of bronze bangles and anklets, and a series of beautifully carved jet and shale buttons that may well have adorned a Bronze Age jacket.
[edit] Meikle Ferry Disaster
Until 1812 the only means of crossing the Dornoch Firth was by ferry. On the night of 16 August 1809 over 100 Sutherland folk boarded on the Dornoch side with goods and stock for the market in Tain. The over-laden ferryboat set off and, though conditions were calm, the boat was dangerously low in the water. About halfway across the boat turned broadside to the tide and began to take in water. It sank almost immediately with the loss of some 99 lives, including the Sheriff of Dornoch, Hugh MacCulloch. Over £2,900 were raised for disaster relief, much of it coming from overseas. It resulted in the construction of Bonar Bridge in 1812.
[edit] Beached Whales
School of Pilot Whales grounded in the Bay between Bonar Bridge and Ardgay...(See photo)
[edit] Famous People related to Bonar Bridge
John Murray [6]
[edit] Economy
Crofting
Forestry
Salmon Fishing
Deer Stalking
Salmon Netting (now ceased)
[edit] Amenities
- Bonar Bridge/Ardgay Golf Club [7]—a woodland style course in lovely countryside overlooking Migdale Loch.
[edit] Local businesses
[edit] Accommodation
Castles
- Carbisdale Castle [8](which can be hired for Weddings, Banquets, etc).
- Skibo Castle (Andrew Carnegie's Castle, now hosts the Carnegie Club[9], and is an exclusive retreat for the rich and famous (e.g. Maddonna)
Lodges
- Aultnagar Lodge Hotel & Conference Centre[10]
Hotels
Bed and Breakfast in the village
Cottages
[edit] Tourism
Most years, the village celebrates it Gala Week or the Salmon Queen Week, in August.
Nearby places of interest for tourists visiting the area include The Falls of Shin where you may see salmon attempt to jump up the falls on the way upstream to spawn, or Carbisdale Castle (Scottish Youth Hostel) a folly castle build by the dowager duchess of Sutherland, Dornoch a picuturesque Royal Burgh with famous golf course (Royal Dornoch), a great beach and camping area, and others.
Croick Church [18] is nearby (map[19]), with its evocative engravings on the church windows from sufferers of the Highland Clearances in the Amat area. Undiscovered Scotland Page[20]
[edit] Links to Photographs
[edit] Surrounding area
- Ardgay
- Culrain with Carbisdale Castle
- Rosehall
- Invershin
- Skibo
- Spinningdale
- Ospisdale
- Dornoch
- Lairg
