Carrbridge (, ) is a village in

Badenoch and Strathspey Badenoch and Strathspey was a Districts of Scotland, local government district, created in 1975 as one of eight districts within the Highland (region), Highland region in Scotland. The district was abolished in 1996 when Highland was made a s ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. It lies off the A9 on the A938, west of Skye of Curr and southeast of Tomatin, near Bogroy. It has the oldest stone bridge in the Highlands and the nearby ancient pine forest contains the Landmark Forest Adventure Park.

Geography

Carrbridge is about north of

Aviemore Aviemore (; ) is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popular for skiing and ...

and forms a gateway to the

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park () is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of National parks of Scotland, two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National ...

. It was an early centre for

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

in Scotland. In the 2001 census the village had a population of 708 people, with the majority employed in

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. Until the construction of a bypass in the 1980s, the A9 ran straight through the village. Carrbridge is served by Carrbridge railway station on the

Highland Main Line The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is long and runs through the central Scottish Highlands, mainly following the route of the A9 road (Scotland), A9, and linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth, Scotland, ...

. Local debate still rages regarding the name Carrbridge itself, with some preferring to see it hyphenated to ''Carr-bridge''. The word "Carr" has nothing to do with motorised transport but is derived from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

word for ''boggy area''.

Attractions

Carrbridge's most famous landmark is the old Carrbridge Packhorse Bridge, from which the village is named. The bridge, built in 1717, is the oldest stone bridge in the Highlands. It was severely damaged in the " muckle spate" of 1829 which left it in the condition seen today. In 1847 someone wrote to the '' Inverness Courier'' giving it as an example of one of the "all but deserted ridges of whichthe most useful and picturesque ought to be preserved". It is now unstable and is recommended only to be viewed from afar. Jumping off the bridge into the River Dulnain below had long been a popular pastime for younger locals and the more adventurous tourists. Landmark Forest Adventure Park is set in an ancient pine forest at the south end of the village. It has a variety of attractions, including a wild water coaster, steam powered saw mill and the UK's first nature trail, Treetop Trail. There has been a

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

campsite in the village for many years. Duthil Old Parish Church and Churchyard, located nearby, includes many graves and memorials of Clan Grant.

Events

The village plays host to two popular annual competitions: The Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship and the Carve Carrbridge Scottish Open

Chainsaw Carving The art of chainsaw carving is a fast-growing form of art that combines the modern technology of the chainsaw with the ancient art of woodcarving. The beginning of the art form The oldest chainsaw artist records go back to the 1950s, which inc ...

Competition. Both contests offer keen but friendly competition, drawing entrants and spectators from all over the world. Throughout the year, many events are held by Carrbridge Community Arts, a dynamic and innovative local community group, which include Music, Art, Theatre, Celebrations and Festivals.

In the news

In 2009 the village took on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

claiming that the Corporation constantly got the weather wrong which was putting off tourists. Local businesses claimed that BBC weather reports on television and on their website constantly reported rain despite there being no rain whatsoever. Locals stated that the BBC generalised the weather to "rain in Scotland". Carrbridge became a minor celebrity with the story appearing on national news networks and the quiz show '' Have I Got News for You''.

Sport

The village has its own

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team, Carrbridge FC which plays in the Strathspey & Badenoch Welfare FA League and in local cup competitions. They won the League in 1986 and 2008, but were unable to field a team in 2009 and 2010. Their home ground is in the centre of the village (next to the main car park) and their home colours are black & white vertical stripes. Golfers are catered for with a challenging nine-hole golf course. The village also has a pony trekking centre and a bowling green.

Wildlife

The local pine forests are home to crossbills, crested tits,

red squirrel The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris''), also called Eurasian red squirrel, is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is an arboreal and primarily herbivorous rodent and common throughout Eurasia. Taxonomy There have been ...

s and deer. Nearby areas provide summer habitats for common snipe, greenshanks, Eurasian oystercatchers,

northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, green plover, or (in Ireland and Great Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Palearcti ...

s and others. On the nature trail in Landmark Forest Adventure Park, there is a special feeding area that attracts pine wood birds and the

—endangered in most of the country due to competition from the introduced

grey squirrel Gray squirrel or grey squirrel may refer to several species of squirrel indigenous to North America: *The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), from the eastern United States and southeastern Canada; introduced into the United Kingdom, ...

. Around the area, there are rarely seen

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

s on the mountains and

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

s are more common.

Osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

s fly to their summer home in Loch Garten and

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

are commonly seen.

Notable people

* Blackmill, a

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

musician * Rachel Sermanni, a folk musician

References

External links

* {{Commons category inline Populated places in Badenoch and Strathspey