Whitebridge ( gd, An Drochaid Bhàn) is a small village on the southwest side of

Loch Ness Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for clai ...

in northern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Geography

It is roughly from

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

and from

Fort Augustus Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around 646 (2001). Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism. History The Gaeli ...

. Whitebridge is home to fewer than 100 people spread over roughly . Loch Killin is situated approximately southeast of the village and the neighbouring village of Gorthleck lies to the north-east of Whitebridge. Beinn Sgurrach is the highest hill in the area at 470 m and lies on the northeastern edge of the village.

History

The village's name comes from the old bridge over the River Fechlin which flows past the village. The old bridge, known as the ''Whitebridge'' due to the colouring of its stonework, was constructed in 1732 under the overall supervision of

General Wade Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Alliance before leading the construction of barra ...

as part of a wider scheme to construct a

military road {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The following is a list of military roads worldwide. Australia * Part of the A8 (Sydney) between Neutral Bay and Mosman * Military Road, part of Route 39, Melbourne * Military Road, off Wanneroo Road just north ...

through the area, in an attempt to suppress further Jacobite uprisings. The bridge construction was likely supervised locally under William Caulfield, a subordinate of Wades. The road is now the B862 and is the primary road through the village. A new rubble faced concrete road bridge was added in the 1930s alongside the old bridge. The old bridge is still accessible to pedestrians. Duntirhal is a former ruined historic settlement located on the edge of Whitebridge in a sheep field towards Beinn Sgurrach. At one point in time, the settlement consisted of up to 24 rectangular buildings and 5 enclosures, as well as corn-drying kilns, although only a few partial foundations remain visible. Another abandoned township, also part of the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulte ...

lies to the west of Whitebridge at Easter Drummond. Whitebridge hotel and inn is a prominent structure in the village and is believed to have originated as a coaching inn (or Kingshouse) on the site of the military camp used by the builders of the military road. The current building functions as inn and was built in 1899.

Economy

The economy of the area is focused around agriculture, tourism and forestry activities. Many of the permanent residents are farmers or gamekeepers, or commute to work elsewhere in

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populatio ...

. Along with the Whitebridge hotel, there is a small holiday park in the village which contains highland style lodges. Most children attend Stratherrick Primary School in the neighbouring village of Gorthleck. The annual

Loch Ness Marathon The Loch Ness Marathon (Gaelic: ''Marathon Loch Nis'') is an annual marathon race in Scotland, held along the famous loch, Loch Ness, ending in Inverness. The event is part of the Festival of Running, held annually at the beginning of October. ...

starts near Whitebridge.

Famous residents

The village was home to award-winning Scottish poet Ian Abbot (1947–1989) during his later life. He wrote the collection ''Avoiding the Gods''. Abbot died during a car accident in the village.

References

{{coord, 57, 12, 15, N, 4, 30, 8, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Populated places in Inverness committee area Loch Ness