Spean Bridge () is a village in the parish of Kilmonivaig, in

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

region of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The village takes its name from the Highbridge over the River Spean on

General Wade Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer and politician who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Al ...

's military road between Fort William and

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 Early histo ...

, and not from

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

's bridge of 1819 which carries the A82 over the river at the heart of the village. The Highbridge Skirmish on 16 August 1745 was the first engagement of the

Jacobite Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

. The

Commando Memorial The ''Commando Memorial'' is a Listed building#Scotland, Category A listed monument in Lochaber, Scotland, dedicated to the men of the original Commandos (United Kingdom), British Commando Forces raised during World War II. Situated around a mil ...

, dedicated to the men of the original

British Commandos The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the World War II, Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out Raid (military), raids against German-occ ...

raised during Second World War, is located approximately north-west of Spean Bridge, at the junction of the A82 and the B8004. It overlooks the training areas of the

Commando Basic Training Centre The Commando Basic Training Centre was a British Army training establishment primarily for the training of Commandos (United Kingdom), British Commandos during the World War II, Second World War. It was located in the grounds of Achnacarry Cast ...

established in March 1942 at Achnacarry Castle.

Transport

Lying in the Great Glen, Spean Bridge has road links north towards

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

and south to Fort William, provided by the A82, and the A86 heads east to join the A9 at

Kingussie Kingussie ( ; ) is a small town in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland council area of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Inverness-shire, it lies beside the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, although the old route of ...

. The village is served also served by Spean Bridge railway station providing links to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and

Mallaig Mallaig (; ) is a seaport, port in Morar, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It faces Skye from across the Sound of Sleat. The Mallaig railway station, local railway station is the terminus of the West Highlan ...

. Between 1903 and 1933 it offered a branch line service to

Sport

Lochaber Camanachd is the

shinty Shinty () is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. It is played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and among Highland migrants to the major cities of Scotland. The sport was formerly more widespread in Scotland and even played in Northern ...

club based in the village of Spean Bridge.

Citations

External links

* Highlands and Islands of Scotland Populated places in Lochaber {{Lochaber-geo-stub

Transport

Sport

See also

Citations

External links