Bridges on the River Ythan

The next place up stream from Newburgh on Ythan is the market town of Ellon. The main road into Ellon used to cross the Ythan via a ford but in 1793 the arched stone bridge on the right of the photograph was built. Eventually the old bridge could no longer cope with the increasing traffic and in 1941 it was replaced by the modern concrete bridge on the left. The old stone bridge still provides a pedestrian crossing.

The River Ythan is renowned for its salmon and sea-trout fishing and for several centuries it was also a rich source of freshwater pearl mussels Margaritifera margaritifera. These creatures, now in serious decline but protected by law, produce truly beautiful pearls, which in the Ythan's case really were fit for a king. A pearl found at the mouth of one of its tributaries, the Kelly Burn, was of such high quality that it was presented to King James V of Scotland and now forms one of the brightest jewels in the Scottish Crown manufactured in 1540.