The previous post looked at the wooden footbridge which spanned the Keil Burn before the 1914 road bridge that remains in place today was built. Just how long a footbridge had existed at this site is unknown but at least two styles of structure can be seen in old photographs. Maps also suggest that the angle of the bridge varied over time (for example, before and after the construction of the railway viaduct). The top image shows the older more open-sided bridge. Given the accidents that took place on the bridge in the mid-19th century, the second design looks much safer, with its more substantial sides. It can be seen from different perspectives in the views below.
The tracks in the sand in the photograph above show that carts, which could not cross the footbridge, could pass at suitable tides under the bridge rather than taking the long road route round from Lower Largo to Drummochy and Lundin Links. The point where the cart tracks turn away from the burn into Drummochy marks the point where one side of the new road bridge would be built. One resident recalled from childhood memory a particular horse and cart making the crossing when the tide was high...
"I have seen Willie Arthur's horse up to the girths in water when the tide was in but it always made it. It seemed to be tempting providence but he must have known the horse's capabilities."
The image below shows a crowded footbridge on the occasion of the unveiling of the statue of Alexander Selkirk in 1885. This picture, and a number of others from that day, can be found in the book 'Sea Toun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine. A decade later the bridge was in a bad way and needed repair. Despite hope in 1903 that "a substantial stone and lime bridge and sea wall to complete the road between Lundin Links and Lower Largo" would be built, proposals could not be agreed (Courier, 14 August). They would have to wait another 11 years.
"I have seen Willie Arthur's horse up to the girths in water when the tide was in but it always made it. It seemed to be tempting providence but he must have known the horse's capabilities."
The image below shows a crowded footbridge on the occasion of the unveiling of the statue of Alexander Selkirk in 1885. This picture, and a number of others from that day, can be found in the book 'Sea Toun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine. A decade later the bridge was in a bad way and needed repair. Despite hope in 1903 that "a substantial stone and lime bridge and sea wall to complete the road between Lundin Links and Lower Largo" would be built, proposals could not be agreed (Courier, 14 August). They would have to wait another 11 years.
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