THE Iron Bridge at Cambus is popular with photographers. Although in disrepair and not open to the public, it still attracts attention.

The cast iron arched bridge was built in the early 19th century to allow access over the River Devon from the nearby Cambus Distillery to several local farms including Northfield, Garvel, Midtown, West Cambus, and The Haugh of Blackgrange.

It also once gave access to a grain mill, two sawmills and an old limekiln.

The narrow bridge has a span of 68 feet and is a rare example of a single prefabricated lattice patterned bridge made up by iron girders.

The only other example of this kind can be found in the design by Thomas Telford which crosses the River Spey.

The cast of the structure was made at the nearby Carron Iron Works near Falkirk, internationally well-known for the quality of its work, and remnants of the iron guide rails on its concourse can still be seen.

These were used by horse-drawn carts as they made their way between the distillery and its other buildings across the Devon. The bridge has a segmented arch, and also has sandstone abutments with curved approaches on either side of the river.

The handrails on the bridge are not the original ones which seem to have been replaced as early as 1816.

However, this has now corroded, and the timberwork is in a poor state of repair, having rotted in places. The decking has also rotted.

In 1995 the then Clackmannan District Council put together a financial package, including a grant from the National Lottery's Heritage Fund, so that the bridge could be preserved due to it being historically significant, not only in Clackmannanshire but Scotland as a whole.

It was restored two years later with the metal railings being painted Venetian Red and Brunswick Green, colours associated with the Victorian era.

It was re-opened as a footbridge for public use but it has since fallen back into disrepair and is closed once more.

Some believe the bridge was a test bridge for Telford's larger construction near Ballater, the Cambus o' May bridge, but there is no definitive record of this being the case.

A new wider bridge was constructed and is used by trucks heading to and from the Cambus Distillery and its associated warehousing complex. This bridge is also part of the National Cycle Network.

On June 12, 1972, the iron bridge was Category A listed by what is now Historic Environment Scotland but in March 2016 it lost its scheduled monument status.