Who is responsible for ‘unsafe’ Dunbeath strath footbridges?
Concerns over the safety of two suspension footbridges at Dunbeath, each dating back well over a century, have led to a quest by a local woman to find out who is responsible for them.
The crossings have been used by generations of walkers making their way along the scenic strath. They were in place several decades before local author Neil Gunn wrote his acclaimed 1937 novel Highland River.
The longer bridge spans the Dunbeath Water and the other one, directly below Dunbeath Broch, crosses the Houstry Burn.
Winifred Sutherland, who is appealing for information about the origins of the crossings, is worried that both have become unsafe. Some of the metal suspension cables are rusting in places, and the wooden boards can be unsteady to walk on.
“I want to see them repaired by whoever is responsible,” Mrs Sutherland (68) said.
One side of each bridge is on her land at Dunbrae but she says they are not in her title deeds. The Dunbrae land has been in Mrs Sutherland’s family for just over 100 years.
She and her husband Ben (71), a retired merchant seaman, have lived there for about 50 years.
Mrs Sutherland says the opposite side of the longer bridge is on Dunbeath Estate land and the far side of the shorter one is on ground belonging to another landowner.
However, the question of who owns the bridges themselves – and is therefore responsible for their upkeep – is a mystery.
“We don’t want to pass liabilities over to our children,” Mrs Sutherland pointed out.
She is worried about the structural integrity of both bridges and understands that for them to remain in use they would require safety certificates which would need to be kept up to date in years to come.
The crossings appear to have been built by Wm Smith and Son, of Ness Iron Works, Inverness. Based on information gleaned from old Ordnance Survey maps, Mrs Sutherland believes they are likely to have been erected between the late 1870s and about 1900.
“They were installed in that period but we don’t know who instructed them,” she said. “At that time all this land was owned by Dunbeath Estate, so I assumed that it was probably Dunbeath Estate.
“The Dunbrae land was bought by my great-uncle in 1924. There is absolutely nothing in my title deeds about these bridges. There is no mention of the bridges because they were already here.”
She says she has been told by Dunbeath Estate that “they are not theirs”.
On the question of safety certificates, Mrs Sutherland explained: “My solicitor initially mentioned it, and these bridges aren’t safe. If somebody injures themselves, we need to know whose bridges they are.”
During a walk up part of the strath last week, Mrs Sutherland said: “This bridge [below the broch] was renovated by job creation in the 1980s, which would make you think it’s probably Highland Council.
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“When I contacted the paths guy [access officer], he said the paths and the bridges were nothing to do with them.”
Further up the strath, at the longer bridge leading to the old Milton Inn, Mrs Sutherland pointed out: “There are various nuts missing – there’s a lot of structural things wrong with it. Because they are suspension bridges, they come under a whole lot of rules.
“They are 100 per cent not my bridges. I went and checked my title deeds and they are just not my bridges.
“With this being all estate land away back then, somebody couldn’t just come and throw up bridges. It must be in the estate’s records, who asked permission.”
In early December last year, Mrs Sutherland decided to put up signs stating: “Notice from landowner: This bridge may be unsafe, cross at your own risk.”
Within a few weeks, the signs had disappeared.
“I thought it was quite a polite way of telling people,” Mrs Sutherland said. “It was on both bridges, screw-nailed on, probably on for three or three-and-a-half weeks, and then vanished.
“And there was no sign of them – it wasn’t as though they’d taken them off and chucked them. “Whoever saw them would have had to come back with a screwdriver to unscrew them.”
Mrs Sutherland was proprietor of the Inver Arms for 18 years. She now runs a handbag-making business called FreKel from her home.
She pointed out that walking routes along the Dunbeath Water are set out on an information board at the mill parking area, just off the main road.
“They’re promoting it down at the mill, all these walks,” she said. “And if there’s not a bridge, there are no walks.”
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “A preliminary search of the area has shown that we are unable to find any land belonging to Highland Council. The land in question appears to be owned by private landowners/estates.”
Dunbeath Estate was approached for comment.