thomas telfordã¢ï¿½ï¿½s finest highland bridge

Medium

Photography

Artist Notes

The small Highland Perthshire towns of Dunkeld and Birnam on either side of the River Tay are linked by the solid seven arched bridge which is said to be Thomas Telford’s Finest Highland Bridge. The 4th Duke of Atholl commissioned Thomas Telford the great Scottish engineer to build the toll bridge in 1809. Telford did much to open the Highlands with canals, roads and bridges, many still in use today. In 1879 the locals successfully rioted against the continual toll charges, as the cost of the bridge must have been repaid by then. The large white toll gate was removed for the last time, in the middle if the night, to prevent a public demonstration.