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The Parallel Roads in Glen Roy
Loch Laggan looking south
The Commando Monument at Spean Bridge
Photographs COPYRIGHT Andrew McKenna |
Our Village
Roy Bridge, a small Highland Village (population about 450) is
situated in the Braes of Lochaber to the west of Glen Spean some 20Km from Fort William.
The village today is a recent settlement and prior to its establishment the population (as
many as 2000 inhabitants) resided in several small townships throughout the Braes –
most of which have long been abandoned.
Within the village there are a General Store/Post Office, two hotels which often stage
entertainment in summertime, a Memorial Hall (built 1869 as a Post Office and Drill Hall
for the newly formed 10th Company of Macintosh Rifles – a corps of defence
volunteers) and St. Margaret’s Catholic Church.
The village is served by the Fort William to Glasgow railway (completed 1894) with a
sleeper connection to London. Please note that services are limited to only three or four
trains per day and fewer on Sunday. There is also a limited bus service to Fort William.
Nearby is the junction of the Rivers Roy and Spean. Both these rivers are favourites with
canoeists and anglers during and after spate conditions.
Some of the best examples of "parallel roads" are found in Glen Roy. These are
considered to be the relic shorelines of the ice-dammed lakes formed during the last Ice
Age some 10,000 years ago.
The area has a bloody history. Families fought amongst themselves – the MacDonells
and the infamous Keppoch Murders in 1663. Clans fought each other – the last clan
battle in Scotland was fought between the MacDonells and Macintoshes at the Roy Hill in
1688. All the local clans fought against the Government Troops during the 1745 Rebellion.
Nowadays the village is a lot more peaceful. |
