This fantastic 200 year old sandstone bridge spans the River Tay at Dunkeld and is a landmark on the Tay. There's some very good salmon fishing water both upstream and downstream of the beautiful Scottish bridge which has been a a visual marker for many River Tay fishing trip guests over the last 2 centuries.

Kilted Scottish entrepreneur Donald A Monteith with his mother and father with Rolls Royce Silver Shadow (800 GRM) outside his home Dalvey House (now Bracken House) on the Old Mugdock Road in Strathblane, Stirlingshire, Scotland. Donald was one of Scotland's best known Glasgow based businessmen throughout the 1960's & 1970's era.

Here's 3 River Tay salmon fishing professional ghillie legends. Willie 'the ghillie' Laird, Ian Redford & Calum Gillies were 3 of the most renowned salmon fishing men in the 70's on the Tay. This was a 15th of January opening day picture taken at lunchtime in front of the Newtyle Beat fishing hut in Birnam.

Here's a downstream shot of 2 salmon fishers at the House Pool of the River Tay's Meikleour salmon beat near Stanley which is a great salmon holding pool on this famous Scottish river. I took this shot during July and you can see the lovely wooded riverbanks and perfect blue Summer sky.

Look at this for beautiful salmon water on the River Tay near Dunkeld. This shot is of the River Tay & River Tummel confluence which is a great salmon fisher destination. Note the perfectly cut grass riverbank to the left of frame.

Here's the front elevation view of the perfect Kinloch House Hotel in Perthshire.

Here's a picture of River Tay professional salmon fishing ghillie legend Willie Laird in a pondering pose beside the river. Willie was a career ghillie and boatman on the Tay for 50+ years before his retirement in 1986. Willie was the Head Ghillie on the Tay's Newtyle Beat near Dunkeld for all of his adult life.

The Boil Pool on the Newtyle salmon fishing beat of the River Tay.

The Telford Bridge In Dunkeld

By Jock Monteith 8th January 2018

It's always amazed me how individual landmarks on the Scottish salmon rivers can instantly fast track you back to a far distant era which replays in your head so vividly as if it were only yesterday.

The beautiful 200 year old Telford Bridge in Dunkeld designed by famous Scottish engineer Thomas Telford is synonymous with the River Tay and the mind's eye memories for thousands of River Tay salmon anglers & ghillies.

Real Tay Legends From The Past

As the smooth purr of the 6.7 litre V8 Rolls Royce engine approached the bridge I vividly recall seeing a beautiful and newly erected River Tay sign and those few moments remains frozen in my memory banks to this day. The following day we drove back down to Dunkeld and re-crossed the bridge as we were booked onto the Newtyle Beat with close family friends Ian Redford senior & Willie 'the ghillie' Laird which was another truly amazing experience in my River Tay salmon fishing introduction.

A River Tay Salmon Fishing Introduction

On a very personal and fortunate basis the first time I crossed this bridge was in 1970 en route to the Grey Goose hotel at Forneth which is now the beautiful Kinloch House hotel which is exceptionally well run by Graeme Allen and his family. That particular day I was sitting up front in a brand new light blue Rolls Royce Silver Shadow driven by my entrepreneur father who was a highly successful Scottish based builders merchant during the 60's & 70's.

Here's a salmon fishing holiday guest in the traditional Tay salmon boat at the Telford Bridge in Dunkeld. You've got to manage your expectations in salmon fishing and stay consistent with a well thought out fishing plan and when you do that results will always follow. Note this salmon fisher is wearing a life jacket which is mandatory with all of our guided salmon fishing guests.

Spreading Ashes On The River Tay

Just to highlight the power & reach of the Tay's Telford Bridge I also recall in the 70's being out harling in the Newtyle's Cottar Pool with my father and Willie Laird when we spotted a square black box bobbing at the side of the river. Willie's immediate reaction was that it looked like a bomb but on closer inspection it was a cask full of human ashes which my dad did the honours and spread in the river. The card inside the bag was from the deceased Canadian man's relative in Canada who my father wrote to and was informed that his last request was that his ashes be spread over the Tay from Dunkeld Bridge as that was were he wanted his remains to go and nowhere else. Obviously the funeral director took the easy route or didn't fancy the upstream breeze that day!

I took this shot of a salmon fly fishing angler at the Croys Pool of the Kercock salmon beat which is one of many middle River Tay hot spots. This middle area of the Tay is good for salmon fishing from March through to October and the Tay can be fished with the fly or with a spinning lure. This lovely gravel riverbank is easy to fish from unlike the far tree clad riverbank.

A New Approach To River Tay Salmon Fishing Marketing

This year without giving too much away in case we need to change things around a bit we have plans to showcase the Telford Bridge like never done before so that this magical sandstone construction can remain permanently in the minds of many more thousands of Scottish salmon fishers in years to come. From my acute marketing prospective this monumental construction is the true 'gateway' to the River Tay and especially the beautiful middle Tay area.

Great Memories Of The Telford Bridge In Dunkeld

In March of 2009 I was living in Dunkeld but used to use the gym fascilities at the lovely Dunkeld House hotel every night to stay in trim. I recall leaving there late one night to the sounds of explosions and bright flashes. The 200 year anniversary of the bridge was underway in Dunkeld and I ran to the Cathedral grounds for a better view amidst this amazing firey spectacle which I'd never seen to that professional level before. All along the top of the bridge and covering all of the arches was a constant cascade of fire falling down onto the river as all types of rockets were being sent up which was a truly surreal experience to say the least. God knows what the salmon were thinking that night!