Deer Abbey Bridge

Deer Abbey Bridge from the south, looking towards the trees of Pitfour

NJ 96632 48145

This extraordinary Bridge is situated on the minor road, linking the A950 and B9029 which crosses the Formartine and Buchan Way at Bridgend, about 50 metres west of the Abbey of Deer. The bridge crosses the South Ugie Water, the boundary between the estates of Aden to the south of the river and Pitfour to the north. The southern half of the bridge is narrower than the northern half, this bizarre architecture came about because of a dispute between the  Fergusons of Pitfour and the Russells of Aden. The Fergusons carried out extensive landscaping of their estate, turning it into what became known as  'The Blenheim of the North'. The improvements included the creation of the 27acre Pitfour Lake by James Ferguson, the third laird who became MP for Aberdeenshire in 1790. The Russells of Aden feared that the artificial lake would cause flooding at Aden. The Fergusons ignored their concerns but the Russells got their revenge when the Pitfour side of the bridge was widened to allow coaches to pass over it. The Russells stymied this plan simply by refusing to widen their side and so the uneven bridge remains passable to single file traffic only.