Camelon - Ardoch - Strageath - Cargill Roman Road

NO35NE 73 3745 5514 to c. 3999 5760

After Westmuir (NO 366 527, see NO35SE 68) the next appearance of the road 'is in Caldhame Wood (Caddam Wood, NO 383 558)?where there is a fragment of just under three-quarters of a mile (3750ft.), for the knowledge of whose existence I am indebted to Mr. Richmond. It consists of the usual low broad causeway, which starts in the plantation on the SW side of the road (containing the house called Woodside, NO 3781 5540); it passes through the S corner of Caldame Wood and after crossing a footpath falls into line with another which runs up on it for 1250ft. Continuing in the same alignment it meets the Kirriemuir-Cortachy road at a point 200yds. S of the NE corner of Caldhame Wood, which is at a cross-roads. Then it is lost, and I could find no further trace of it. The causeway is cut by the banks enclosing Caldhame Wood itself and by other banks in the wood, and must therefore be older than these. It has no bounding banks beside it, nor does it run parallel to the boundary of the wood or any of the banks. It ends quite abruptly at each end, and has no apparent connection with the existing lay-out of roads and fields. For these reasons I think it must be older than any modern period to which it might otherwise have been assigned, and I accept it as almost certainly authentic.' (Crawford 1949) (JLD).

NO 3982 5739 to NO 3985 5742 'The road in the strip of wood NW of Crieff farm (on mapsheet at NO 4057 5724) is 526ft. S of the S bank of the Auchlishie Burn, measured along the W wall of the strip and a matter of 7ft. farther when measured along the E wall. While there is no agger?this section is not unlike the last few miles of the road W of Gask (see NN91NW 146 and NN91NE 123)' (Crawford 1949) (HAT).

The agger in Caldhame Wood, does not appear to be Roman, as it is neither consolidated nor metalled (JRS 1958).

Through Caldhame Wood is a low, mainly earthen, bank averaging 4m wide accompanied on either side by a shallow ditch c.1m across. Nowhere does it appear to be metalled, though odd stones are visible, and for part of its course it supports a row of established beech trees whilst on either side are planked conifers. Thus it now serves as a boundary between two plantations. The NE end of the bank has been destroyed by recent afforestation. There is no trace of this back continuing across the fields at either end of the wood. It seems unlikely that this bank is part of the Roman road. The alleged section of road through the wood to the NW of Crieff Farm is very faint and unlikely to be Roman. It consists of little more than a slight swelling between two faint ditches and is extremely unlikely to be Roman (JP).

Information from OS (HAT) November 1954; (JLD) November 1957; (JP) April 1975.

O G S Crawford 1949; JRS 1958.