8 September 2009
New landslide at the Rest and Be Thankful in Scotland
Posted by Dave Petley
Probably the most infamous landslide event in recent years in the UK occurred in Scotland in August 2004 when a series of landslides occurred, including one on the A83 at the rather delightfully named “Rest and Be Thankful”. The same area was affected again by landslides in 2007. The images from the time were quite spectacular, as shown by the BBC at this web page, which is the 2007 slide:
The slide here, and several other slides on the same day in 2004, prompted quite a major study into landslides on the Scottish Highway system. The report is online here.
The BBC is this afternoon reporting that the road is once again blocked by landslides.:
“A long stretch of the A83 has been shut after a landslide at the Rest and be Thankful road, west of Loch Lomond. Police said westbound traffic was being diverted at Arrochar while eastbound traffic was being diverted at Inverary. According to reports, some heavy vehicles are stuck in mud which has come down from the hillside.”
For those interested there is a nice background to the 2004 events here, whilst the BGS have information on the 2007 landslide here.