Conon Bridge ( gd, Drochaid Sguideil, ) is a small village in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

region of

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 th ...

. The current Gaelic name is likely a neologism: the bridge was not built until the early 19th century and some early gravestones show the name sgudal or scuddle. One suggested source is the Old Norse "sku dal", ''valley of the fine views''. Situated near the market town of

Dingwall Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cas ...

, on the southern bank of the River Conon, in Ross-shire, it is at the western end of the

Cromarty Firth The Cromarty Firth (; gd, Caolas Chrombaidh ; literally "kyles /nowiki>straits">strait.html" ;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straitsof Cromarty") is an arm of the Moray Firth in Scotland. Geography The entrance to the Cromarty Firth is gu ...

. The village of Maryburgh is on the other side of the river. Conon Bridge has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

on the line between

(the nearest town) and

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. Histo ...

(the nearest city), which re-opened on 8 February 2013. This had been proposed as a candidate for reopening after the success of doing so with nearby Beauly railway station. In September 2012 the Minister for Housing and Transport Keith Brown confirmed it would reopen by February 2013 to offer an alternative to commuters during resurfacing work on the

Kessock Bridge The Kessock Bridge ( gd, Drochaid Cheasaig) carries the A9 trunk road across the Beauly Firth at Inverness, Scotland. Description The Kessock Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge across the Beauly Firth, an inlet of the Moray Firth, between the ...

from February to June 2013. Amenities at present are a small fraction of what they once were, hosting a Spar shop, Post Office, two hairdressing salons, a bar and separate hotel. It also has its own primary school, whose pupils then go on to Dingwall Academy. There is also a recently opened pharmacy and a Co-op store opened in 2017. The only church situated within the village itself is the Ferintosh Parish Church, a growing

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

congregation. Private housing in the village is complemented by council estates. Future plans for the village include more exclusive, private housing schemes, a new primary school, a doctors' surgery and more shopping facilities for residents. A new small shopping complex opened up on the east side of the village in early 2017.{{cite web , last1=Ross , first1=Callum , title=Plans unveiled for £1.5million retail scheme in Highland village , url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/1042240/plans-unveiled-for-1-5million-retail-scheme-at-conon-bridge/ , website=Press and Journal , publisher=Press and Journal , accessdate=13 April 2019

Footnotes

External links

* Conon Bridge Community Website http://www.cononbridge.org.uk/index.asp * Ferintosh Church of Scotland https://ferintoshparishchurch.org.uk/ Populated places on the Black Isle