The name means rocky hill and was first applied to the cliff on which much of the village is sited, above the River Spey. Craigellachie dates back to at least 1750, when there was a ferry across the Spey where today's village now stands. Craigellachie has two distilleries and is home to the Speyside Cooperage.
Craigellachie Bridge over the River Spey was built by Thomas Telford in 1814. A plaque on one of the castellated towers guarding the entrance to the bridge records that the metalwork was cast in Wales: another that the bridge was restored to this, something like its original condition, in 1964.
The bridge is a remarkable piece of engineering and is the oldest surviving iron bridge in Scotland. It cost £8,200 to build, outspending its original estimate by £200. The slim arch spans 150ft between stone abutments. It is constructed from four, cast iron ribs, 15ft apart, with cast iron spandrels bolted in a diamond lattice below an iron railing. Four 50ft tall, hollow, castellated stone towers top the abutments, providing heavy contrast to the delicacy of the ironwork.
The abutments carry the span at 12ft above normal water level. The original plan was for a lower bridge, but he took advice from local people and raised it by several feet to allow for flooding (a wise decision). It was the only bridge on the Spey to survive the great floods of 1829, when the Spey rose by 15.5ft.
Craigellachie Bridge was bypassed in 1972.
To find the cache solve N57 29.ABC W003 11.DEF
***** FTF Well done to theborderterriers on first to find *****