The Mound


(Fleet Mound)

The Mound to northwest of Loch Feet
©2022 Gazetteer for Scotland

The Mound to northwest of Loch Feet

A causeway across the mouth of the River Fleet in E Sutherland, The Mound is located 5 miles (8 km) north of Dornoch. A passenger ferry once crossed at Littleferry at the opposite end of Loch Fleet but, in 1816, this new embankment and road were completed by noted engineer Thomas Telford (1757 - 1834). It is 900m (984 yards) in length. Telford constructed a stone-arched bridge over a narrow river channel at the northeastern end of The Mound, and modified this bridge seventeen years later in 1833. Sluice gates beneath the bridge allow the passage of the river but control the incoming tide. The area behind the causeway was originally to be reclaimed for agriculture, but instead was colonised by alder and willow, forming the Mound Alderwoods. In 1902 a light railway to Dornoch was established sharing the causeway, but this ceased in 1960. The A9 Trunk Road still makes use of The Mound, but a modern concrete bridge was built alongside Telford's original.


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