History of the Military Road
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While Rannoch Moor may be one of the last true wildernesses in the British Isles, it has for centuries provided the main link between the West Highlands and the Central Belt of Scotland. In medieval times, almost from the birth of any kind of market economy in Scotland, cattle were being herded across the moor to be sold at market. These drovers' routes were probably marked by cairns on small knolls, signifying the safest routes.
One such route was the Road to the Isles. This may be the modern tourist name for the A830, but its origins go back much further, with the historic drove route running from Arisaig, through the dangerous Glen Nevis, and then crossing the eastern fringe of Rannoch Moor, past Corrour, and into the upper reaches of the Tay Valley.
Another route skirted the western fringe of the moor, to reach Strath Fillan and so the shores of Loch Lomond, much as the modern A82 does today. It was this route that General Caulfeild decided upon when planning the Military Road North. Work was only carried out in the summer months, from late April or May until September. The road across Rannoch Moor from Tyndrum to Fort William was, by all accounts, completed in two summers - 1751 and 1752. Such a rapid progression suggests a large number of work parties each building their own sections. It would also go to explain the poor quality of road that Telford found fifty years later.
As with most modern travellers, Caulfeild started from the south, using existing tracks and drove routes to reach the inhospitable edge of the moor at Bridge of Orchy. The current crossroads outside the Hotel shows Caulfeild's route, and the bridge over the River Orchy is the bridge that he constructed in 1751.
The Military Road (blue) runs higher up the hillside than the other routes. Click to enlarge
The route was then constructed at a relatively high level on the hillside to minimise construction costs. The higher up, the smaller the streams, so fords would make do in place of bridges. Wherever possible the materials were gathered from the surrounding landscape - stones and pebbles - with the small quarries still visible along the route. Sand and gravel would almost certainly have had to be imported, probably in small carts along the road to the current construction area.
The road was built by soldiers, and there are a number of tales surrounding the construction of the Military Roads. One of the most popular is that for every soldier digging, there were three on the surrounding hillside ready with their rifles to fend off the "marauding Highlanders". This is probably largely a myth for Rannoch Moor, as it is doubtful that there were ever many people resident on the moor. However, as the road neared Glen Coe the memories of the Massacre of fifty years earlier would have still been fresh in their minds. It is possible that this had a serious bearing on the chosen route, as it crossed the steep hills to Kinlochleven to avoid entering Glen Coe itself. The name "Devil's Staircase" was given to the zig-zag climb up the hillside (shown right; click to enlarge). The route is just as steep as it looks and makes for a difficult ascent.
The soldiers would have been camped in makeshift tented villages, and while winter conditions would have been pretty harsh, it was still seen as a choice role by many in the Army. The forts, barracks and other garrisons in the highlands were pretty dangerous places to be in the 18th Century, with numerous attacks and sieges recorded. As the roads neared them, the rapid movement of troops gave the army a gradual superiority with their better weapons, and the ultimate absorption into British Society of the Highlanders. However, it was a long and complex tale, with clearances, potato famine and mass emigration playing a big part.
