Suspension Bridge, Cambus O' May is a Grade B listed building in the Cairngorms National Park local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 16 April 1971. 2 related planning applications.
Suspension Bridge, Cambus O' May
- WRENN ID
- secret-shingle-willow
- Grade
- B
- Local Planning Authority
- Cairngorms National Park
- Constituency
- West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP: Andrew Bowie (Con)
- Country
- Scotland
- Date first listed
- 16 April 1971
- OS grid reference
- NO 420 976
- Coordinates
- 57.06586, -2.95679
- Source
- Historic Environment Scotland listing
Description
This is an elegant iron suspension footbridge dating to 1905, engineered and constructed by James Abernethy and Company of Aberdeen. It’s a distinctive landmark feature located over the River Dee within the Cairngorms National Park. The bridge features lattice-girder pylons topped with ball finials, wire rope cables, rod suspenders, and a lattice truss span. An elevated walkway and stairway approach the bridge from the north.
The bridge is one of several fine suspension footbridges crossing the River Dee, and is comparable to James Abernethy’s earlier Polhollick Bridge (built 1892) and the later Invercauld Bridge (built 1924), both also listed buildings. A plaque on the north pylon commemorates Alexander Gordon of Southwood, Hildenborough, Kent, who gifted the bridge to the public. The delicate latticework of the pylons contributes to the bridge’s significance as a landscape feature.
Local climate
Suspension Bridge, Cambus O' May sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,060 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 85% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 96% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 87 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 99% of listed buildings. Of these, 63 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 2 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.