Cannot match the one above for beauty! But this little bridge has a strange history. It is a sad, solitary bridge, never having been married to its intended suitor.
The story goes something like this: way back more than 100 years ago a railway company decided to build a new line between the towns of Cromarty and Dingwall. Or Cromarty and Muir of Ord. Therein lay the problem. They argued a lot and could not agree where it should be connected to back on the main line! So, as they had investors money burning holes in their pockets, they decided to start at the furthest point, that being Cromarty, and working there way back in the direction of Dingwall/Muir of Ord always hoping that they could decide before they reach a critical point where the track laying would be once again halted be their indecision. However, because they had talked so long that they only managed to lay track half way to Muir of Ord (they had decided on the 'cheap' option) when 1914 came round with all the turmoils of WW1. The line was mothballed and still is! Not that it is easy to see now where it almost once ran, but little clues like this bridge remain, still waiting for a train to make use of it. The local joke at a lazy person on the Black Isle used to be that they were not working because they were saving themselves for the job of Station Master at Cromarty Station.
I actually have a 1914 tourist guide book of Inverness and surrounding area which has a plan of the local railway system. On this map, this track is shown as complete. I hope that nobody decided to wait for it in Muir of Ord...
Cheers!
Andy
