Devol Glen


(Devol's Glen)

A steep little wooded gorge in Inverclyde, the Devol Glen (sometimes referred to as the Devol's Glen) descends from the Devol Moor through Port Glasgow. It contains the Devol Burn.

The Devol Viaduct (or Nine Arches Viaduct) was built in 1870 by Sir William Arrol (1839 - 1913) to carry the former Greenock and Ayrshire Railway across the gorge to connect to Princes Pier. It comprised nine semi-circular arches and was 146m (480 feet) in length and reached a height of more than 30m (100 feet) above the Devol Burn. This section of line closed in 1966 and the Royal Engineers demolished the viaduct with explosives on 31st October 1970. Only part of the western abutment remains. A simple footbridge was constructed below in 1979 to cross the river but, with the National Cycle Route 75 now following the former railway line, a steel-truss bridge was opened as a replacement in 1993, just slightly lower than the original viaduct.

The district and old farmstead of Devol are located a mile (1.5 km) to the southeast.


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