Ciste Dhé

A Gaelic place name guide by Joe Dorward

Ciste Dhé - 14th July 2009

Ciste Dhé is a series of swimmable pools in the Dé a short distance upstream from the White Bridge.  The pools are most easily reachable from the estate road on the west bank.

As a place name Ciste Dhé - means chest of dee.

There is evidence for the existence of a footbridge over the river at Ciste Dhé about the middle of 19th century.  An interesting tid-bit of information appears in Tait's (1848) - the author of an anonymous article describing the Dé, and counting the bridges over it (counting upstream from its mouth) - writes : 

the tenth at Mar Lodge, erected by the Duke of Leeds, during the last autumn ... the eleventh at the Linn ; and the twelfth is the very rickety establishment over the Chest

- Tait's (1848) (p725)

From this quote - it's clear the White Bridge was not built until sometime after 1848, and the bridge at Ciste Dhé was the highest one over the Dé then.