Rumbling Bridge is a small village built on both sides of a gorge of the River Devon, which formed the boundary between the historic counties of Perthshire and Kinross-shire and is now within the combined Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland, where the A823 leaves the A977. [1] It lies roughly 1 mile equidistant from Muckhart to its north, Crook of Devon to its east and Powmill to its south. It is named after an unusual double bridge, which gives off a distinctive rumbling reverberation at lower levels. Comprising only a few scattered houses until the mid-20th century, most property in the village dates from the 1970s onwards.
The "lower" bridge, without parapets, was built in 1713 [1] by William Gray, a mason from Saline. It is 22 feet (6.7 metres) long, 11 ft (3.4 m) wide, and 86 ft (26 m) above the average water level.
The second bridge or Upper Arch (120 feet or 37 metres above the river) was constructed 34 feet (10 metres) above it in 1816 [1] and gave it an easier gradient [2] by removing the steep slope down to the old bridge. On 18 March that year there was "the greatest flood ever heard of or seen in Kinross; all the burns were brimfull". [2] On 13 August, "a smart shock of earthquake was felt throughout Kinross at 11 o'clock at night. Plates rattled on shelves; chairs moved about and were thrown over; beds shook, &c." [2] There was also a "wet and late harvest" [2] during which there was snow on four occasions from five to six inches (130 to 150 mm) deep.
Unlike the Rumbling Bridge over the River Braan near Dunkeld, the River Devon cannot be canoed. There is a good, well maintained path round the upper gorge built by the armed forces. About 350 yards (320 m) above the bridges is the Devil's Mill waterfall. At the Devil's Mill, the river runs through a rocky channel into a deep basin, descending into a cavity beneath where the rushing of water produces a sound which the 1838 guidebook The Scottish Tourist compares to "that made by the machinery of a mill in motion". [3] The best view of it is from the south bank. [3]
Taking the footpath east from here will take you right through to the Crook of Devon. From west of the Rumbling Bridge there is no safe path although an 1838 guidebook The Scottish Tourist says that "the best view of the finely wooded cliffs connected by the Rumbling Bridge, is from a gentle eminence immediately below and opposite to it, upon the north bank. The river, both above and below, bounding from rock to rock, each forming a little cataract, creates a constant tumbling noise; hence the name of the Rumbling Bridge. From the clefts in the face of the rock grow bushes and trees, among which daws and hawks nestle, and from these they are incessantly sporting, thereby giving a pleasing animation to the scene." [3]
The lower gorge is not easily accessible although Caldron Linn (1 mile or 1.5 kilometres below Rumbling Bridge), accessed through fields by Powmill, is worth the effort and the 150-foot (45-metre) slippery descent to reach it.
The gorge is fairly dangerous. In May 1849, a young boy James Anderson was killed after falling one hundred feet (30 m) from the high rocks to the west of the Rumbling Bridge while birdnesting. [2] And on 6 August 2002, after heavy rains and flash flooding, 16-year Alix-Ann Aisin MacKay fell into the gorge and died whilst trying to cross it with friends.
The Scripture Union runs an activity centre in the nearby Naemoor House (formerly Lendrick Muir School). Lendrick Muir School was funded by the Colin Nikolic Foundation, run by the former pupil and Head Boy of Lendrick Muir School.
On 1 May 1863 Kinross railway line was extended to Rumbling Bridge and Rumbling Bridge railway station was built. The line was extended to Dollar on 15 April 1871. It had taken two years to complete this short, but difficult route. This opened the gorge up to curious Victorians travelling out from Edinburgh and the Rumbling Bridge Hotel was built.
It was a very popular tourist destination even before the railway was built. The clear winding Devon," was celebrated by Robert Burns in his beautiful lyric, "The Banks of the Devon." Miss Charlotte Hamilton (afterwards Mrs. Adair), was the "Loveliest flower on the banks of the Devon" whom Burns met during a visit to the Cauldron Linn on Thursday 30 August 1787. She was at that time residing at Harvieston, near Dollar.
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south; it borders the counties of Inverness-shire and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus to the east, Fife, Kinross-shire, Clackmannanshire, Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire to the south and Argyllshire to the west. It was a local government county from 1890 to 1930.
Perth and Kinross is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Dundee, and Fife to the east, Clackmannanshire to the south, and Stirling and Argyll and Bute to the west. Perth is the administrative centre.
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Acharn is a hamlet in the Kenmore parish of the Scottish council area of Perth and Kinross. It is situated on the south shore of Loch Tay close to its eastern end. The hamlet was built in the early 19th century to house workers from the surrounding estates. A watermill was constructed to harness the power of the nearby Acharn Burn, and this was converted into a craft centre in the 1970s, and later into a private residence. There is a bridge in the middle that goes over the Acharn burn.
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Blaidzenoch which floweth from the mountnous parts of Penninghame, and runs from the north to the south. It runneth through Lochmabary, and by the way it receaveth into several waters; the most considerable is the water of Tarfe, which hath its rise from Airtfeeld, in the Muirs of Luce, and falleth into Blaidzenoch, under the house of Craighlaw. The Blaidzenoch turns to the east, and after it heth fra its source run twenty miles (32 km), it falleth into the Bay of Wigtown, near above the place of Baldone.
The River Spodden is a watercourse in North West England, one of two major tributaries of the River Roch. It rises in the Lancashire South Pennine hills north of Whitworth and flows south through what is now known as the Whitworth Valley to Rochdale, Greater Manchester, where the river merges with the River Roch. Nestled within the picturesque wooded valley is Healey Dell Nature Reserve.
Tillietudlem is a fictional castle in Walter Scott's 1816 novel Old Mortality, and a modern settlement in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Crook of Devon is a village within the parish of Fossoway in Kinross-shire about six miles west of Kinross on the A977 road. Its name derives from the nearly 180-degree turn, from generally eastwards to generally westwards and resembling the shape of a shepherd's crook, which the River Devon makes at the village.
Powmill is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies at the junction of the A823 and A977 roads at the southwest of the region, approximately 5 miles southwest of Kinross and 5 miles east of Dollar.
Lendrick Muir School was a Scottish residential school for children of above average intelligence, aged 11–19 or latterly children with dyslexia, located in Perth and Kinross on an unclassified road from Rumbling Bridge to Crook of Devon.
The Devon Valley Railway linked Alloa and Kinross in central Scotland, along a route following the valley of the River Devon. Its construction took 20 years from the first section opening in 1851, to the final section in 1871. Three railway companies were involved, and it encountered a great many problems both with finance and engineering.
Haugh or The Haugh is a small village or hamlet in East Ayrshire, Parish of Mauchline, Scotland. The habitation is situated about two and a half miles downstream from Catrine, on the north bank of the River Ayr. The River Ayr Way runs through the village.
Cauldron Linn, or Caldron Linn, is a waterfall on the River Devon on the border between Clackmannanshire and Perth and Kinross in Scotland.
Fingle Bridge is a 17th-century stone arch bridge carrying an unclassified road over the River Teign near Drewsteignton, within Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. This packhorse bridge has three arches and the two central piers are surrounded by triangular cutwaters extending upwards to form pedestrian refuges, and is a Grade II* listed building.
The Railways of Kinross were a local network of three rural railways which made the town of Kinross in Scotland their objective in the 1850s.
Rumbling Bridge railway station served the village of Rumbling Bridge, Kinross-shire, Scotland from 1863 to 1964 on the Devon Valley Railway.
The Hermitage Bridge is an ancient, single-arch stone pedestrian bridge crossing the River Braan near Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. A Category A listed structure, it is in the bounds of The Hermitage, a National Trust for Scotland-protected site. The bridge should not be confused with the Rumbling Bridge, which carries motorised traffic, about 0.62 miles (1.00 km) to the southwest.
Black Linn Falls is a waterfall on the River Braan in The Hermitage, Dunkeld, Scotland. After the falls, the river passes beneath the Hermitage Bridge into a plunge pool.
Crauford Tait WS was a 17th/18th century Scottish lawyer, improver and landowner and also a contemporary and friend of Robert Burns.