Corrieyairack Traverses
Traverser(S) (18th Century)
Site Name Corrieyairack Traverses
Classification Traverser(S) (18th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Corrieyairack Pass
Canmore ID 140813
Site Number NN49NW 2.03
NGR NN 4280 9842
NGR Description NN 4298 9836 to NN 4258 9842
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/140813
- Council Highland
- Parish Laggan
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Badenoch And Strathspey
- Former County Inverness-shire
NN49NW 2.03 4298 9836 to 4258 9842
The traverses on the S side of the Corrieyairack Pass form part of the route from Fort Augustus to Dalwhinne which was built as part of the military road programme of 1725-37. Militray labour was used throughout, the working season extended from May to October in each year, and gunpowder was used on rocky ground.
This part of the route was prone to extended blockage by winter snow. Following complaints from roadless landowners in Morvern, Ardnamurchan and Ardgour that their districts were cut off from the S, this route was replaced by a better route from Spean Bridge to Kingussie along Loch Laggan.
A R B Haldane 1962.
These hairpins or traverses were well buttressed, and when kept in repair, must have been a remarkable sight.
W Taylor 1976.
There are currently thirteen traverses, some of Wade's original seventeen (Salmond 1938 and Logie 1997) or eighteen (Baker and Baker 1982) having been removed. The original traverses varied in length from 70 yards to 80 yards, buttressed on the outside by a stone wall 10 feet to 15 feet high and flanked by a drain on the inside. They were a notable feat of engineering. The traverses today are not in a good state of repair, but, although rough, are readily walkable and retain a good number of well preserved military characteristics. Although there has been a reduction in the full extent of some of the corners over the years, the original line, despite being very overgrown, remains visible within the hill-slope. The overgrowth may well be masking some well preserved features of the early road fabric. Along the side of the road, remains of the stone bulwarks can be seen and at the road edge and within the banks and revettments the remnants of what seem to be stone lined drainage channels give an impression of the 18th century drainage pattern in this area. There are no signs of ditch lines in this stretch. The patches of stone cobbling which are visible are of uncertain date. The track surface along the incline may have been given extra support by the stone pitching, which also helped to take water off the road.
J B Salmond 1938; W Taylor 1976; J and A Baker 1982.
M Logie (Highland Council) 1997; NMRS, MS/1007/4.
These zi-zag traverses are depicted (but not noted) on the 1992 edition of the OS 1:10,000 map. They fall within the parish of Laggan.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 8 June 2006.
Publication Account (2007)
(Institute Civil Engineers Historic Engineering Works no. HEW 2539/03)
Dalwhinnie to Fort Augustus Road (Corrieyairack)
This 28-mile long road is a branch from the main line of General Wade’s military road from Crieff to Inverness (MR 4) and is notable for the engineering work required to take it over the high ground of the Corrieyairack Pass where it rises to an elevation of 2507 ft.
The road commenced at Dalwhinnie in Glen Truim and ran northward, rising to 1250 ft before dropping downinto the Spey valley to cross the river at Garva or St George’s Bridge, 150 ft long with two 40 ft span arches. It
then followed the valley of the Spey, and at Melgarve began to climb more steeply, 1000 ft in 212 miles, before ascending 500 ft to the summit of the pass by a notable series of traverses 70–80 yards long that were buttressed on the outside by drystone walls 10 ft–15 ft high. Having
crossed the summit plateau, the road descended 1500 ft in 5 miles through Glen Tarff before reaching Fort Augustus. It was constructed by six working parties of soldiers, about 500 men, with work being commenced in April 1731 and being completed in October of that year. Up to the year 1732 this road, including five bridges, had cost £3821. By 1798 the road had fallen into disrepair and was described as ‘rough, dangerous and dreadful, even for a horse’, but it was still being used by wheeled vehicles. The pass ceased to be used as a drove route when the West
Highland Railway reached Fort William in 1894, but it subsequently
found a use as an access route when the Hydro Board constructed its transmission line through the pass.
The road is now a route for walkers, and with the passage of time the number of traverses has been reduced from 17 to 13 and only traces of the buttresses remain.
R Paxton and J Shipway, 2007.
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
