Nethy Bridge
| Nethy Bridge Gaelic: Cinn Drochaid | |
| Morayshire, Inverness-shire | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Location: | 57°15’48"N, 3°39’17"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Nethy Bridge |
| Postcode: | PH25 |
| Dialling code: | 01479 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Highland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey |
Nethy Bridge is a small village in Morayshire, though locally situate in Inverness-shire, within Strathspey. It is located in the ancient parish of Abernethy and civil parish of Abernethy and Kincardine.
History
The village (affectionately known simply as "Nethy") 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 village's 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 Flood when part of it was washed away.[3] In total, there are four Telford bridges in Nethy.
The village was originally called Abernethy (Gaelic: Obar Neithich), but 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 it renamed this halt 'Nethy Bridge' to differentiate the two. The place name Abernethy is still frequently used around here, for example at the Abernethy Highland Games,[4] Abernethy Forest, Abernethy Primary School etc.
Community and tourism
In 2001 the population of Nethy Bridge was 498, though this is likely to be higher today due to housing developments.
Nethy Bridge was one of the first communities in the area to establish a tourist association website.[5] It records all properties with their individual history, and several village "elders" have been enlisted to research and record the facts.[5] 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
- ↑ Li, Martin (2005), Adventure Guide to Scotland, Hunter Publishing, Inc, p. 376, ISBN 978-1-58843-406-7
- ↑ "Anger as Peer fells ancient pine forest", New Scientist: 6, 8 March 1984, http://books.google.com/books?id=qcAt-iSl2q0C&pg=PA6
- ↑ House of Commons papers, Volume 4, HMSO, 1831, p. 42, http://books.google.com/books?id=jDcSAAAAYAAJ
- ↑ "Abernethy Highland Games official website". Abernethyhighlandgames.co.uk. http://abernethyhighlandgames.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Nethy Bridge Tourist Association". http://www.nethybridge.com/member/.