engineering

Polhollick Bridge

Polhollick Bridge is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Polhollick Bridge rather than just read about it. In short: The Polhollick Bridge spans the River Dee near Ballater, Aberdeenshire. It was built in 1892 by James Abernethy, a steel founder in Aberdeen.

Key takeaways

Polhollick Bridge belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Polhollick Bridge to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Polhollick Bridge from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Polhollick Bridge spans the River Dee near Ballater, Aberdeenshire. It was built in 1892 by James Abernethy, a steel founder in Aberdeen. The bridge had been commissioned by Alexander Gordon as a gift to the area to replace a ferry crossing. Gordon had grown up in the area and witnessed a drowning incident at the ferry. It is a suspension bridge for pedestrians only. The bridge is similar to the nearby Cambus O' May bridge also paid for by Gordon. The bridge suffered severe damage during Storm Frank in December 2015 and reopened after repairs in December 2018.

Description Polhollick bridge is a footbridge crossing the River Dee around 2 miles (3 km) west of Ballater, Aberdeenshire. The bridge was paid for by Alexander Gordon, a wealthy brewer who had grown up in the area, and replaced an earlier ferry crossing. Gordon had witnessed a drowning incident involving a newly-married couple on the ferry crossing. The bridge was built in 1892 by James Abernethy and Co. steel founders in Ferry Hill, Aberdeen. It is a suspension bridge with lattice towers, sat on lozenge-shaped abutments, which carry two wire rope cables with ladder-like cross-bar stays. The deck, strengthened by lattice girder trusses, is suspended from the cable by rods. The bridge spans 170 feet (52 m). The ferry, which pre-dates the late 18th century, was discontinued after the bridge was built. The ferry pier survives at the site, as does the former ferryman's house which is now a private dwelling. The bridge is similar to the Cambus O' May bridge, another donated by Gordon that is sited nearby, but is in a more open environment. The Polhollick bridge is of sturdier construction than its neighbour and G. Nelson, writing in Highland Bridges in 1990, regards it as having "less charm". The bridge forms part of the Seven Bridges walking route and is category B listed.

Operation The bridge was badly damaged in 1942 when it was hit by an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber aircraft attempting to land on the Dee to put out an engine fire. The bridge was shut between May and October 2015 for repairs costing £300,000; by this time the bridge was subject to a weight limit of four persons at any one time. In December of that year the bridge was badly damaged by high water and floating debris caused by Storm Frank. The Polhollick and Cambus O' May bridges were among the worst affected of the 288 bridges in Aberdeenshire that were damaged by the storm. The bridge was closed for repairs, which included re-straightening the original steelwork using heat and force, until 10 December 2018. Most of the original steelwork was retained. It was one of the last bridges in Aberdeenshire that were damaged during Storm Frank to be repaired; only the Cambus O' May bridge repairs took longer.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Polhollick Bridge

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Polhollick Bridge claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Polhollick Bridge before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Polhollick Bridge ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Polhollick Bridge

In research: Polhollick Bridge appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Polhollick Bridge in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Polhollick Bridge is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bridges across the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Bridges in Aberdeenshire, Buildings and structures completed in 1892, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Polhollick Bridge outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Polhollick Bridge in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Polhollick Bridge means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Polhollick Bridge out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Polhollick Bridge in simple terms?

The Polhollick Bridge spans the River Dee near Ballater, Aberdeenshire. It was built in 1892 by James Abernethy, a steel founder in Aberdeen.

Why does Polhollick Bridge matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Polhollick Bridge?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Polhollick Bridge.