Crossing the Rivers - Scottish Solutions.
Crossing rivers in the Highlands could be a serious business. A heavy burst of rain, perhaps several miles up the valley, could transform a gentle trickle into a furious spate.
"A Spate in the Highlands", a dramatic painting by P. Graham, now in the Manchester Art Gallery. This image from an old magic lantern slide.
Osgood MacKenzie knew an innkeeper who had lost both her husbands, drowned whilst helping customers cross a nearby river. The rain for which Scotland is famous ensures that there are plenty of burns and rivers, and ingenious ways of crossing them have been devised over the years. I have other pages devoted to ferries.
The Reverend James Hall, at Kirkmichael in 1803 watched with admiration "a stout handsome girl tucking up her petticoats, and walking on stilts, perhaps four or five feet high, carrying her mother across the river to church."
"Crossing a River to go to Church." An engraving from James Hall's "Tour of Scotland by an Unusual Route" published in 1807.
At Glenbeg, William Daniell was wondering how to cross a wide and fast-flowing stretch of water, when "a robust Highland female presented herself, and it was on the shoulders of this mountain-nymph that the passage was effected."
Glenbeg, an aquatint by William Daniell, showing the water he crossed on the "shoulders of a mountain-nymph."
The army had a similar solution to the problem:
"Troops Fording a Brook", a caricature by John Collet published in 1772. The scene depicted could be in the USA, or is this a Scottish scene, the girl looking on with a tartan shawl?
Of course, bridges were the ideal way of tackling the problem....
A shooting party "Crossing the Borgie", Sutherland, 1928.
.....but these were not always in the best of condition....
A photograph titled on the back "Near Loch Ness."
.....and could be challenging in their own way.
"The Shoogly Bridge" said to be near Braemar.
"Wire Bridge in Gorge, Glen Nevis, Fort William." A postcard by James Valentine, 1925.
If the river was not in spate, there might be some stepping stones....
"On the Lossie, Elgin", a Valentine postcard, 1925.
Another of the stones on the Lossie at Elgin.
Three intrepid walkers
"Elsie Tried to Cross the Stepping Stones...." an original watercolour by Henry Charles Clifford, 1898. The river is the Brora.
....or you could always take your own boat.
Hauling a boat overland for the Island Picnic.
Other solutions were more ingenious.
"Abergeldie Castle from the River." A photo by James Valentine, 1878, showing the Cradle Bridge. It was replaced by a suspension bridge in 1885 (see below)
The suspension bridge at Abergeldie Castle. A Valentine postcard, 1897.
An interesting photograph of the workings of the cradle bridge at Abergeldie, seemingly showing the photographer. From a stereoview by S. Thompson.
Another ingenious construction...
A photograph titled on the back "Oban Area."
.....or simply pole-vault across the river.
A similar construction at Aultilton, Glenisla. A McMurray's Alyth Series postcard.
An American trade card, c1900.