Rumbling Bridge

From a recent e-bike ride from Perth over to Dunning, then up and along the B934, crossing over the Ochil Hills (photo above) and on to Rumbling Bridge along quiet roads.. then on a loop back to Perth via Kinross/Milnathort, Loch Leven, and Glenfarg.. an enjoyable 76km bike tour with a few breaks. You get to see and hear so much more when out cycling..

This bike tour took around 4 hours, with a stop at the rather unique Rumbling Bridge, of which the lower section was originally built back in 1713, and then the upper section of that bridge which we still use today was built in 1816. This construction (building one bridge with an arch on top of the other bridge without parapets) has resulted today in a constant rumbling noise from the rushing water coming from the river below, while the nearby gorge is a dramatic looking canyon in seemingly otherwise tranquil countryside.. because when one is stood back up on the road and bridge (photo below, with one of our e-bikes) it is totally quiet and you can’t hear those rumbling noises below.

Rumbling Bridge is situated on the river Devon (formally Dovan), which runs through an area known as the crook of devon, from the Ochil Hills all the way over to where it joins the River Forth, just west of Alloa (Clackmannanshire) and east of Stirling. This river, downstream from the bridge, beyond the waterfall, is a very popular location for fishing (Brown Trout, Sea Trout and Salmon) - The Caldron Linn, or the Cauldron Linn, is a waterfall about a mile below Rumbling Bridge, on the River Devon at the border between the counties of Clackmannanshire and Perthshire (now Perth & Kinross), while this waterfall was famously visited by Robert Burns in 1787 in the company of his friends, and was then later featured in his verse "The Banks of the Devon." - How pleasant the banks of the clear-winding Devon.. (where) meandering flows (across the landscape).. The lyrics from the complete verse can be read at;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/rob...

And in case you are curious, a meander or ‘meandering flow’ is another name for a bend in a river.. meander is when water flows in a curvy, bendy path, like a snake… the River Devon has plenty of these types of bends.

The waterfall that kept changing location..

Prior to 1971, the Caldron Linn/Cauldron Linn was actually still in the most southerly tip of Perthshire, before its location was transferred to Clackmannanshire.. then to Kinross-shire, then fast forward a few decades (and by ignoring the period 1975 till 1996 when Scotland made use of a region they decided to call ‘central’, or even ‘Tayside’), and it now falls back under Perth(shire) or PKC again according to current boundaries. But if you think that is confusing, then spare a thought for the people who had to draw up this UK act of parliament which was responsible for these boundary changes, when they even ended up having to use the abbreviation or term ‘etc’ in the actual title of this act?! – curious?.. Then for more info go check out; the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 that tries to explain how Scotland dealt with all their regions and districts 😉

Rumbling Bridge location..

Also worth mentioning, is that this Rumbling Bridge is NOT to be confused with another one in the Perthshire region that has been going by a similar name over recent years, located on the River Braan, a few miles west of Birnam/Dunkeld on the old military road (the A822 on maps today) towards Amulree and Crieff. The distance from this Rumbling Bridge (the original) located south of Perth, to that one incorrectly tagged on google reviews (north of Perth) is actually 35 miles (55 kms) apart!

It seems that since 2020 and the lockdown period, a lot of people walking out of Birnam or nearby camping/caravan sites have been posting google reviews about ‘Rumbling Bridge’ and tagging it there, rather than at its original location on the River Devon as featured in this post. So, if you want to see more of Perthshire, then ditch google and get out on your bikes!

Rumbling Bridge (the village next to the bridge, on what is now known as the A823) even used to have its own railway station, which was operational on the Devon Valley Railway (linking Alloa with Kinross) between 1863 till 15^th June 1964.

All photos by HBT