Nethy Bridge

Nethy Bridge
Nethy Bridge
Nethy Bridge shown within the Badenoch and Strathspey area
Council area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Nethy Bridge
Postcode district PH25
Dialling code 01479
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Nethy Bridge (Scottish Gaelic: Cinn Drochaid or Drochaid Neithich) is a small village in Strathspey in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Abernethy and Kincardine.

History

Often affectionately referred to simply as "Nethy" the village has, since Victorian times been a tourist destination noted for its quiet and secluded location at the edge of the Abernethy Forest.[1] It is situated in the heart of Strathspey in the Highlands of Scotland between Aviemore and Grantown.

A primary industry of Nethy Bridge was forestry,[2] with at one time several sawmills in the area, but this has long since subsided, now much of the income is derived from tourism.

The name is derived from the River Nethy, a tributary of the nearby Spey, which runs through the village, and the arched bridge which was built in 1810, to a classic Telford design, and is in the heart of the village. It had to be repaired after the August 1829 Moray (N.E. Scotland) Flood when part of it was washed away.[3] In total, there are 4 Telford bridges in Nethy.

Originally called Abernethy (Scottish Gaelic: Obar Neithich), Nethy Bridge was renamed when the railways came this far north in the 1860s. The Great North of Scotland Railway already had a village called Abernethy on its line further south, so renamed this one Nethy Bridge to differentiate the two. The place name Abernethy is still frequently used around here - Abernethy Highland Games,[4] Abernethy Forest, Abernethy Primary School etc.

Community and tourism

In 2001 the population of Nethy Bridge was 498,[5] this is likely to be higher now due to housing developments.

Nethy Bridge was one of the first communities in the area to establish a tourist association website.[6] The site won an award in 2006. A major part of the website is to record all properties with their individual history, and several village "elders" have been enlisted to research and record the facts.[6] The Nethy Bridge Tourist Association has launched a "Nethy's Going Greener" campaign to raise awareness of green issues locally, and also took the initiative to launch a periodic eNews letter to keep in touch with anyone interested in the village.

The village has a full range of accommodation from hotels to bed and breakfast, self-catering establishments or hostels.

References

  1. ↑ Li, Martin (2005), Adventure Guide to Scotland, Hunter Publishing, Inc, p. 376, ISBN 978-1-58843-406-7
  2. ↑ "Anger as Peer fells ancient pine forest", New Scientist: 6, 8 March 1984
  3. ↑ House of Commons papers, Volume 4, HMSO, 1831, p. 42
  4. ↑ "Abernethy Highland Games official website". Abernethyhighlandgames.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
  5. ↑ Population
  6. 1 2 "Nethy Bridge Tourist Association". Archived from the original on 2013-01-29.
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