The Rest and be Thankful

In the early hours of Thursday 30 January 2020, after hours of torrential rain, the "Rest and be thankful" - as the stretch of the A83 road between Arrochar and Cairndow is known - was closed by a landslide. This is quite a regular occurrence - it happens about every couple of years - but what grabbed my attention about it this time was the response to the closure which enabled drivers almost to travel in time.

Picture credit - BBC

The problem
It may be a regular occurrence but that doesn't stop closure of The Rest and be Thankful being a headache. Consider the map below:-

The Rest is the red stretch in the red circle. It's closure is not too much of an issue for travellers from Glasgow to Dunoon and the south of Cowal (the peninsula enclosed by Loch Fyne on the west and the Firth of Clyde and Loch Long on the east) because they have the alternative of the car ferry across the Clyde between McInroy's Point and Hunter's Quay (green line on the map) which takes 20 minutes and runs at a frequency of up to 15 minutes at peak periods.

Closure of the Rest is more of a problem for people going to south west Argyll - Inveraray, Lochgilphead, the ferry to Islay, Kintyre and Campbeltown. They have no option but to go round to Inveraray via Crianlarich, Tyndrum and Dalmally (blue line on the map) which adds an extra 23 miles (about 35 minutes' driving time) to the journey. (Incidentally, you read in the media of a diversion of 59 miles - see for e.g. here - but that's Tarbet to Cairndow (not Inveraray) via Tyndrum and is the total distance rather than the extra distance closure of the Rest causes.)

The road
The road over The Rest and be Thankful was part of a military road from Dumbarton to Inveraray built between 1743 and 1749 by Major Caulfeild (General Wade's successor as military road builder as discussed here.) Leaving the west shore of Loch Long at Ardgartan opposite Arrochar, it followed the floor of Glen Croe (not to be confused with the more famous Glen Coe which is further north) before climbing steeply via a hairpin bend to the pass (806' elevation) which leads into Glen Kinglas and the descent to Loch Fyne at Cairndow. Travelling this way in 1760, Richard Pococke, an Anglican clergyman who became Bishop of Ossory then of Meath in Ireland, noted at the head of the pass "a semi-circular seat made in turf, on which is this inscription on a stone - "Rest and be thankful, 1748"". And so this stretch of road has been known ever since.

Picture credit - nairnbairn via Geograph

Note that the stone presently at the top of the Rest (pictured above) is a later one and not the one Pococke noted. The inscription on the present stone is:-

"Rest and be thankful - Military road rep'd [repaired] by 93d. Reg't [Regiment] 1768 transferred to Comm'rs [Commissioners] for H. R. & B [Highland Roads & Bridges] in the year 1814." 

It marks the transfer of repsonsibility for maintaining the road from the military to the civilian authorities. But if it had been adequate for marching soldiers along (provided they remembered to rest and be thankful at the top of the pass), it was less good for wheeled traffic owing to the steep gradients at the head of Glen Croe. A memorial by the Duke of Argyll and other landowners in the county to the Highland Roads & Bridges Commissioners in 1808 on the subject is worth quoting in full:-

That till about the middle of the last [the 18th] century there was no Road between Argyllshire and the rest of the Kingdom, except over high Mountains and by crossing dangerous Ferries, and although a new Road [i.e. the military road] was then made at the Expence of the Public, from Dumbarton to Inveraray, by the sides of Loch-Lomond, Loch-Long and Loch-Fine, yet there were so few Carriages used in the Country at that time, that little or no attention appears to have been given to the adapting the Road for that purpose, and the consequence is, that of late years it is found to be both difficult and dangerous for Carriages, and it has been the desire of every person concerned, particularly the Judges of the Supreme Criminal Court, who are obliged to travel the Road twice a year, [this is referring to sittings of the High Court of Justiciary at Inveraray] to have alterations made upon the present Line of Road, so as to render it more easy and safe for Travellers; and one very considerable improvement has lately been made at the public Expence upon that part of the Road which is on the side of Loch-Lomond, by which the access for Carriages from Dumbarton to the Head of Loch-Long is greatly meliorated.
     That between Loch-Long and Loch-Fine the access is still extremely bad, some parts rising no less than One in Three perpendicular in getting over the Mountain which separates Glen-Crow from Glen-Kinglas.
     That the Memorialists have lately had the whole of that part of the road surveyed by Charles Abercromby, and have received from him a Plan for altering and amending it in such a way as that the rise shall in no part exceed One in Twenty-six, and a great part will not rise above One in Thirty.
     That the Expence of making these alterations is estimated by Mr. Abercromby at £6,890 sterling, and the Memorialists are willing to contribute One-half thereof by an assessment upon their property, and to undertake the support of the Road in future by Tolls aided by the Statute Labour, provided they shall be encouraged by the Honourable Commissioners under the Authority of the aforesaid Act of Parliament

That last sentence alludes to the fact that the Highland Roads & Bridges Commissioners had power under an Act of Parliament of 1803 to contribute half of the cost of road works if the local landowners paid the other half - so the memorial quoted above was, in modern parlance, an application for match funding. But the Commissioners declined the request, taking the view that they had statutory power to assist the construction of new roads but not the improvement of existing ones.

By road and steamboat from Glasgow to Inveraray

What the HRB Commissioners did agree to assist, though, was the construction in the first decade of the 19th century of two new roads across Cowal with shallower gradients - one from Lochgoilhead to Ardno on the east shore of Loch Fyne (green on the map above) and the other from Ardentinny to Strachur (yellow). From the western terminus of either of these roads, the traveller could get to Inveraray by existing roads and either across the loch by St Catherine's Ferry or round its head. The two new roads really came into their own a few years later with the advent of steam navigation and Ardentinny and Lochgoilhead came within easy reach of regular steamers from Glasgow: these were preferable routes for all except the tiny minority (the aristocracy and the High Court judges) who had their own carriages:-

The Marquis of Lorne (son and heir of the Duke of Argyll) and his bride, Princess Louise (daughter of Queen Victoria), crossing the Rest in 1871. The difficulties and dangers of the route for carriages complained of to the HRB Commissioners don't seem to be impeding their progress. But the scenery has been exaggerated in the drawing so no doubt the apparent speed of the carriage has been as well!

Thus, as far as most travellers were concerned, the road over the Rest and be Thankful was eclipsed for the remainder of the 19th century by the two more southerly routes across Cowal. But this changed with the advent of the motor vehicle in the early 20th century century and calls for improvement of the Rest were renewed. Here's a selection of photos of it at this time:-

The road going out the bottom left of the photo is going towards Cairndow and Inveraray, bottom right is the side road to Lochgoilhead (B828) and the road going top right is going towards the hairpin bend to drop down into Glen Croe - you can see the road along the floor of the glen heading towards Arrochar in the background. The finger post points left to Cairndow and St Catherine's and right to Arrochar. Picture credit - Am Baile   

The hairpin bend in the military road. The highest level of road visible is the side road to Lochgoilhead (B828) which has its own hairpin bend just out of view to the right. The lowest level of road on the right is the road to Cairdndow and Inveraray.

Looking east down Glen Croe

I've heard that lorries sometimes had to reverse up the hairpin because reverse gear was lower than first. The 1922 AA Book warned that the descent was "exceedingly sharp, and the utmost caution is required in handling the brakes." The AA also noted that the hairpin bend had recently been improved (is that visible in the last photo above?) but more comprehensive upgrading didn't come until the 1930s. (This was a time when two other arterial routes which were essentially still 18th century military roads were re-engineered: the A82 from Tyndrum to Inverness (think of the "new" road across the Black Mount and through Glen Coe) and the A9 from Dunkeld to Inverness.) The whole road from Cairndow, on the shore of Loch Fyne, to Ardgartan on the shore of Loch Long opposite Arrochar, was improved. The work seems to have proceeded in phases from west to east over almost a decade. I gather Cairndow was bypassed in 1932 and the hump-backed 18th century military bridge at Butterbridge in Glen Kinglas seems to have been bypassed at some time during the 1930s as well.

The humpbacked military bridge bridge at Butterbridge in Glen Kinglas built 1748-49, bypassed by the present A83 in the 1930s. Picture credit - Andrew Mckie

Butterbridge and its bypass built in the 1930s. Picture credit Paweł Stankiewicz

But the crucial section - bypassing the hairpin bend at the Rest and be Thankful and the steep drop to the floor of Glen Croe by making a new line of road higher up the side of the glen and descending on a more gentle gradient - was interrupted by the War and not opened until 1945.

This War Revision of the OS One Inch map published 1941 (see it in full here) shows the Cairndow and Butterbridge bypasses (red and yellow circles) completed but the new line of road down Glen Croe (green circle) still marked by uncoloured pecked lines meaning it hadn't been built yet.

Despite the inauguration of the new road up Glen Croe in the 1940s, the old military road remained in place, used as an access to the farms in the floor of the glen. It was also, due to its challenges, popular for car rallying. Here's a selection of views of the old and new roads:-

The old and new roads at the Rest and be Thankful summit. Notice the ghost junction between the old road and the side road to the west (left) to Lochgoilhead (B828) at the south (bottom) end of the car park in the angle between the old and new A83.

The new road in Glen Croe with the old road below it. (The road through the trees on the right is just a forestry track.) Picture credit r n b 69

The new road (bottom right) passing the hairpin bend in the old military road

Raindrops on the Google Streetview car's lens as it approaches the summit. The hairpin bend in the old military road is visible on the left.

Temporary solution     
What grabbed my attention about the recent closure of the Rest and be Thankful was the temporary solution: re-opening the old military road to traffic. I didn't know this before but apparently it was reinforced in 2013 so as to be available as a temporary relief road while a landslide over the "new" road was cleared. There's an album of pictures of the work being carried out here.

18th century bridge being prepared for 21st century traffic. Note the crash barrier of the "new" road along the top of the photo. Picture credit - Glen Wallace

As it's a single track road, when in use as a diversion off the "new" road, traffic is ferried up and down the military road in one way convoys:-

The Citylink coach from Glasgow to Campbeltown eadges nervously up the military road in 2014. Picture credit - busmanscotland

It wasn't plain sailing when the old road was brought in to use last weekend, though, as apparently a lorry got stuck causing a two hour delay:-

Picture credit - Jai Cowper-Smith/Dunoon Observer

By the side of Loch Restil looking south (Arrochar direction) towards the summit. Picture credit - Dunoon Observer

I can't help thinking that, even without such accidents, waiting for your convoy's turn to go can't involve much less time than driving round via Tyndrum and Dalmally.

A parallel?
The sight of the traffic instrastructure of previous centuries being re-commissioned, queuing vehicles, traffic cones, police cars and hi-viz jacketed Health & Safety types having kittens reminded me very strongly of when that other road vulnerable to landslides - the A890 along the south shore of Loch Carron - was closed for a few months in 2012 and the Strome Ferry, which had formed the link until the road was built in 1970, was brought back into use. There's an album of pictures of that here.

Car ferry approaching North Strome for the first time in 42 years. Picture credit - Donald Morrison

When the A890 along Loch Carron is closed, it involves a corking 120 mile (2.75 hours) detour to get to the other side of the loch (back up to Achnasheen, over to Beauly, down to Drumnadrochit and Invermoriston, then west via Cluanie and Kintail to Auchtertyre). As the children of Lochcarron village go to school in Plockton on the other side of the loch, when it became clear the road round would be closed for longer than a day or two, there was nothing for it but to resort to the desparate measure of re-opening the famous "Strome Ferry (No Ferry)". Fortunately there is a sole survivor of the sort of six car turntable ferry that used to operate at Strome. She is the Glenachulish, built for service on the Ballachulish Ferry but made redundant there when the bridge across Loch Leven  opened in 1975. Nowadays, she operates the summer only Kylerhea Ferry and, as she winters at Kishorn just round the coast from Loch Carron, she was available to take up service at Strome at short notice when the road was closed in January 2012.

Permanent solutions?
No amount of shoring up will immunise the A83 in Glen Croe or the A890 by Loch Carron from the threat of future landslides. The ideal permanent solution for the A83 would be a tunnel. And anything less than all the way from Ardgartan on Loch Long to Cairndow on Loch Fyne would be a false economy because Glen Kinglas (from Butterbridge down to Cairndow) is also prone to landslides (though less frequently) and here there is no alternative of the old military road because the present road follows its line too closely.

Looking west down Glen Kinglas towards Loch Fyne. Picture credit Gareth Harper

At Loch Carron, the talk is either of a bridge (or causeway incorporating tidal generator) across the narrows where the ferry used to run or else a new road leaving the shore of the loch at Attadale before it reaches the landslide zone and running inland, across the hills to Gleann Udalain and rejoining the A890 a couple of miles north of Auchtertyre (see 2014 Options Appraisal here). The whole road from Contin to Achnasheen to Lochcarron and across the Strome Ferry to Auchtertyre - today's A835/832/890 - was another one funded around 1810 by our friends the Highland Roads & Bridges Commissioners who had declined to fund improvements to the Rest and be Thankful. Their resident engineer, Thomas Telford, had suggested to them a route round Loch Carron and through Gleann Udalain as an alternative to the Strome Ferry but this was not taken up, presumably due to the additional expense involved. All these schemes, in Wester Ross and Argyll, remain expensive, of course, so for some time to come I expect to keep seeing this:-

Picture credit - Dunoon Observer

I certainly hope so, anyway - I'd pay quite a lot of money to be able to wind the clock back to the 1930s and drive up Glen Croe on the military road and across the Strome Ferry in the same weekend!