The river Spey is born in the impressive and remote
landscape of the Scottish Highlands, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Fort
Augustus, the most southern tip of Loch Ness.
Melting snow and rain are filling hundreds of tiny burns, coming down from the mountains. The Spey, wellknown for salmon fishing and the presence of famous whisky distilleries, flows
through Laggan, Newtonmore and Kingussie, before crossing Loch Insh.
From there the river passes Aviemore, Grantown-on-Spey, Aberlour,
Craigellachie and Fochabers. In Spey Bay, 107 miles (171 km) from the source, the
River Spey ends into the Moray Firth, an inlet of the North Sea.
In the Corrieyarack Forest, a completely abandoned part of the Scottish Highlands, the River Spey is born as a very small stream, flowing through Loch Spey
Thanks to countless burns the Spey is growing relatively fast in size
A herd of deer about to cross the river
The first bridge near Melgarve
The river on its tortuous way to Laggan
Loch Laggan
The first name plate of the river in Laggan
The old bridge between Kingussie and Ruthven
After
the 1715 Jacobite Uprisings the British Government decided to tighten its grip
on the Scottish Highlands by building fortified barracks in strategic
locations. Ruthven Barracks along the River Spey was one of them.
On the day
after the legendary Battle of Culloden about 3,000 Jacobites assembled at Fort
Ruthven with the intention of fighting on. The Jacobites set fire to the
barracks and dispersed to try to evade the government forces.
The remains of
the barracks are pretty much how it was left by the departing Jacobites on 17
April 1746. Most of the exterior walls remain but little of the interior
structure, flooring or roofing survives.
Behind the railway station of Aviemore the River Spey flows through the last part of the Cairngorms National Park. Especially in winter this location is packed with ski lovers. In the beginning of the sixties of the last century Aviemore was the first winter sport resort in Scotland.
The Speyside Way
In spring and summer Aviemore is a popular destination for hill walkers. It is the start of the Speyside Way, a walking path following the course of the River Spey untill the mouth in Spey Bay and finishing in Buckie along the Moray coastline.
The route runs through a beautiful scenery of birch woods and pastures of the lower Spey with views of the moors. Hereafter the landscape is slowly replaced by the mountains.
The walkers pass attractive villages and some of the famous Speyside whisky distilleries.
The toughest part of the route is between Ballindalloch and Grantown-on-Spey where the path leaves the river to plot a hillier course amongst the woods and forests on the south side of the valley.
Between Dulnain and Grantownon-Spey the river flows through a remote area of meadows with sheep seemingly the only living creatures
The Old Spey Bridge, situated about one mile southeast of Grantown-on-Spey, is a granite constructions built in 1754 as part of a military route from Coupar Angus to Fort George. The old bridge is not used anymore for fast traffic and was replaced in 1931 by a modern concrete bridge, closer to the town.
During the travelling along the River Spey our reporters used Grantown-on-Spey Caravan Park as a base. More about this particular location in the report: 'The secret of Grantown-on-Spey Caravan Park'.
Spud the Piper
A colorful regular appearance in
Grantown-on-Spey is Spud the Piper. Commissoned by the Garth Hotel this
Highland bagpiper plays several times a week ouside the hotel for the guests.
Spud is a
well-known personality in Scotland, playing primarily on weddings and special
events.
Because of the high quality of his music the bagpiper from Aviemore is
also beloved by showbiz stars. One of the highlights of his career was
performing during the Scottish wedding of superstar Madonna with Guy Ritchie in
2000.
The Spey near Aberlour
The Craigellachie Bridge is a cast iron arch
bridge spanning the River Spey near the village of Craighellachie. It was
designed by the civil engineer Thomas Telford and built from
1812–1814. The bridge has a single span of approximately 46 metres (151 ft) and
was revolutionary for its time.
The ironwork was transported from the foundry through a canal and an aqueduct
then by sea to Speymouth, where it was loaded onto wagons and taken to the
site. At each end of the structure there are two 15 m (49 ft) high masonry
mock-medieval towers, featuring arrow slits and miniature crenellated
battlements.
The bridge was in regular use until 1963, when it was closed for a
major refurbishment. Because the road to the north of the bridge takes a sharp
right-angled turn to avoid a rock face, the bridge was unsuitable for modern
vehicles. Despite this it carried foot and vehicle traffic across the River
Spey until 1972, when its function was replaced by a reinforced concrete bridge.
Telford's bridge remains in good condition, and is still open to pedestrians
and cyclists.
The River Fiddich is one of the numerous tributaries of the River Spey
The water of River Fiddich is used by the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown. But only for the cooling process. The precious lifeblood for the famous Glenfiddich malt whisky comes from the Robbie Dhu source, in the hills above the distillery.
Founded by William Grant in 1886 Glenfiddich is one of the last family-owned whisky distilleries in Scotland. Very well worth a visit.
The report: 'The rich history of Glenfiddich'
The Speyside Malt Whisky Trail
The Malt Whisky
Trail through Speyside leads to seven working distilleries, including a
cooperage and a historic distillery.
From Benromach to Dallas Dhu; from Glen
Moray to Strathisla (home and heart of Chivas Regal); from the Glen Grant
distillery to the Speyside Cooperage; from Glenfiddich to The Glenlivet and the
Cardhu distillery.
Scotland's whisky trail signposts lead the visitors through
the picturesque lush countryside of the Speyside malt whisky region.
For more extensive information go to the official website: www.maltwhiskytrail.com
Cooperage: vital ingredient of whisky making process
Just outside Dufftown visitors of the Speyside Cooperage are enabled to experience the ancient art of coopering.
Since 1947 this enterprise is producing casks from
American Oak. The cooperage is still using traditional methods and tools.
Although shipped across the world, many of the casks remain in Scotland,
providing a vital ingredient in Scotland’s whisky making process.
There is a
modest museum and an interesting video production takes the vistors on a journey through the lifecycle
of the cask. They can also see the highly skilled coopers at work from behind glass. Each year the
Speyside Cooperage makes and repairs 100,000 casks.
Fishermen near Fochabers
Spey casting
The River
Spey is considered a jewel amongst Scotlands finest salmon rivers.
The most
productive fishing is known as Strathspey from Grantown-on-Spey to Spey Bay. This
descent leads to a good flow all season (fishing is allowed between early
March untill September), which make fly fishing exciting.
With the narrowness
of some parts of the river and its Scots pine lined banks some of the pools are
not able to be fished with traditional over head casting. This is why the so-called
Spey Cast was invented. This is a dynamic roll cast that enables the angler to change the
direction of the cast. The movement of the fly line across the water with its
aerodynamic loops and rolls is visually compelling and gives the angler a
feeling of sensation. More and more anglers are taking up this style of casting
just for fun alone.
After this Scottish invention, developed in the
River Spey in the mid-1800s, this fly fishing technique is not only used in the
River Spey, but all over the world for fishing in large rivers for salmon and
large trout.
As a base for exploring the surroundings of the northwestern part of the Spey River our reporters chose Culloden Moor Caravan Club Site. The report: 'Culloden Moor site deserves a 10 Plus'
Near the coast in Spey Bay
The last part of the river in Spey Bay
The confluence with the sea
The end of the River Spey in the Moray Firth, an inlet of the North Sea