Cartland Bridge

Cartland Bridge carries the A73 road across the Mouse Water, a tributary of the River Clyde, about five kilometres north-west of Lanark in South Lanarkshire. The bridge has three spans and was completed in 1822 to plans drawn up by Thomas Telford. It is listed at category B for its special architectural or historic interest. Telford’s design replaced an earlier crossing and introduced wider arches to reduce the risk of flooding. The bridge’s masonry is laid in regular courses of local sandstone, giving it a quiet, solid presence in the landscape. Its slender piers stand in the river without obstructing the flow, a feature praised in 19th-century engineering reports. Visitors find a broad, gently arched roadway lined with low parapets of dressed stone. Below, the Mouse Water rushes through the central arch, its banks lined with willows and alders. The bridge sits low over the water, so walkers can look straight down at the current and the trout that dart between the stones. On either side the road climbs gently into rolling farmland dotted with stone steadings.