Accessing Scotland's Past Project
Event ID 560599
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Accessing Scotland's Past Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/560599
Two military roads meet at Corgarff. One of the roads led east, towards Aberdeen, and the other north, towards Fort George. In some places the road survives as a grass track, 4m in width, but elsewhere a modern road has been constructed over much of the military route.
During the eighteenth century, hundreds of miles of military roads were constructed in highland Scotland, improving communications and transport, and thus helping the government control the area. The routes linked places of military importance, like Corgarff, and were built using techniques pioneered by the Romans, layering gravel on top of small stones and boulders. This section of road was begun in 1753.
Major-General George Wade, Commander-in-Chief of Scotland, was responsible for initiating the road system. He later appointed Major William Caulfeild, who oversaw the construction of a further 748 miles of road.
Text prepared by RCAHMS as part of the Accessing Scotland's Past project
