The right of way through Glen Tilt was one of the earliest that ScotWays’ predecessor organisation, the Association for the Protection of Public Rights of Roadway in and around Edinburgh, became involved in, only a few months after its formation, with the famous Battle for Glen Tilt of 1847, and the subsequent vindication of the right of way in the 1849 case of Torrie v Duke of Atholl.
At the Falls of Tarf, the Water of Tarf cascades over a series of falls in a steep ravine into Glen Tilt: it’s a dramatic sight, particularly in spate, and at a very remote setting, 11 miles upstream from Blair Atholl and 15 miles over the watershed from Braemar. Queen Victoria is recorded as having forded the Tarf in 1861 on a pony, with her companions wading chest-deep in the water. On 25 August 1879, at only 18 years old, Francis John Bedford was drowned attempting a crossing. A memorial fund was started: it took some years to raise sufficient funds, but the newly-established Scottish Rights of Way and Recreation Society (Ltd) commissioned a suspension bridge which was built over the foot of the falls in 1886, and since then it has been known as the Bedford Memorial Bridge. ScotWays funded further renovations in the 1930s, 1959, 1980 and 2000.
To its west, the deck of the Bedford Bridge sits level with the path which traverses a rocky bluff, but at its east end, the ground is lower and a wooden walkway connects the deck to the path: this walkway, being timber, has needed regular maintenance. In 2020, we received reports that the stonework supporting the walkway was being eroded out, most likely due to winter storms over several years, and there was a risk that a future flood could totally wash the walkway away, leaving the path impassable. ScotWays negotiated with the landowner, Atholl Estates to undertake preventative repairs, and over the summer 2023, stone and cement were helicoptered to the remote site and estate staff rebuilt the retaining wall below the walkway, hopefully securing it for years to come. ScotWays was pleased to contribute £4,000 towards these repairs, this represents the residual balance of our Donald Bennet Memorial Fund which has contributed to several other bridge projects in recent years, most famously replacement bridges over the River Quoich and Derry Burn, both on Mar Lodge estate west of Braemar.
Find out more #
Full descriptions of routes between Blair Atholl and Braemar and Speyside are featured in Scottish Hill Tracks, and you can read more about the history of this route in its Heritage Paths entry.
150 years of ScotWays. #
In 1997 ScotWays celebrated 150 years of existence with a birthday walk from Braemar to Blair Atholl. As part of a weekend of festivities, 40 people set off by coach from Blair Atholl at 06:30 for the drive to Braemar and then to walk back through Glen Tilt in time for dinner at the Tilt Hotel. The Falls of Tarf and Bedford Memorial Bridge made an excellent refreshment stop!
