which can grip hold of almost any surface, any almost of hold grip can which

The lamprey has a sucker like mouth disc mouth sucker like a has lamprey The

well as many groups of alder trees, alder of groups many as well

bed, they can live for over one hundred years. hundred one over for live can they bed, of Donald Gorm’ who died in &3&4 in died who Gorm’ Donald of

exceptional variety of plantlife as plantlife of variety exceptional

important and support an support and important

*from Tàladh Dhòmhaill Ghuirm" the ‘Lullaby the Ghuirm" Dhòmhaill Tàladh *from lucky and land on a suitable area of river of area suitable a on land and lucky

challenge, in length in

below " are internationally are Fochabers" below

vitality present a noble a present vitality

grows there for almost a year. If they’re If year. a almost for there grows

The shingle habitats of the Spey" the of habitats shingle The grow to 50cm to grow

(Strength of the salmon boldest in leaping) in boldest salmon the of (Strength whose strength and strength whose

prize is a spring salmon spring a is prize each one which then harmlessly then which one each

They can They

* leumas braise as bhradain a’ Neart

The angler’s greatest angler’s The

gills. The fish’s skin forms a cyst over cyst a forms skin fish’s The gills.

like adults. like

ridges of the coast. the of ridges

trout and attach themselves to the to themselves attach and trout

quickly into eel- into quickly

attracts anglers from all over the world prepared to prepared world the over all from anglers attracts shifting shingle shifting

they are inhaled by young salmon and salmon young by inhaled are they

emerge and transform and emerge

Scotland’s most important salmon fisheries and fisheries salmon important most ’s meeting the meeting

larvae called glochidia. They survive only if only survive They glochidia. called larvae

after feeding on tiny organisms, they organisms, tiny on feeding after

skills or simply its taste! The Spey supports one of one supports Spey The taste! its simply or skills channels before channels

which, once fertilised, are squirted out as active as out squirted are fertilised, once which,

the riverbed’s silt and sand. Up to five years later, years five to Up sand. and silt riverbed’s the

for its indomitable energy, its navigational its energy, indomitable its for altering its altering

conditions. Females produce up to a million eggs million a to up produce Females conditions.

follow the current downstream before burrowing into burrowing before downstream current the follow

place in most people’s affections, whether affections, people’s most in place sandstone, often sandstone,

provide ideal provide

lower reaches. Larvae hatch after three weeks and weeks three after hatch Larvae reaches. lower

The Atlantic salmon holds a special a holds salmon Atlantic The it runs over runs it

, l l a a g g e e l l l l i i s s i i y y a a w w y y n n a a n n i i s s l l e e s s s s u u m m g g n n i i b b r r u u t t s s i i d d r r o o m m e e h h t t

waters of the Spey the of waters

to spawn in the clean gravel of the Spey’s middle and middle Spey’s the of gravel clean the in spawn to

occasionally form inside the shell shell the inside form occasionally r r o o f f g g n n i i h h s s i i f f t t u u b b approaches the sea, the approaches

The soft, clean soft, The

old and can live for &55 years, Small pearls Small years, &55 for live can and old then forsake feeding when they leave the Firth Moray the leave they when feeding forsake then

A noble fish noble A As the river the As Fresh water pearl mussels mature around &' years &' around mature mussels pearl water Fresh

hole in their prey before drawing out blood. They blood. out drawing before prey their in hole

white patch, white waters of the river. the of waters

cod, salmon and trout, using their teeth to scrape a scrape to teeth their using trout, and salmon cod,

head is brown" with no with brown" is head waters. waters.

deeper, inaccessible deeper, they take off, The female’s The off, take they

Maturing sea lampreys live off fish such as haddock, as such fish off live lampreys sea Maturing

network of protection throughout the catchment. the throughout protection of network (moraine) left by the great ice flows and their melt their and flows ice great the by left (moraine)

bars on their wings when wings their on bars

persecution by the by persecution

you’ll see distinctive white distinctive see you’ll

main tributaries of the river; offering a sinuous a offering river; the of tributaries main spreads of sands and gravels are the debris the are gravels and sands of spreads

and are easily alarmed alarmed easily are and also been saved from saved been also A love bite to avoid to love bite A

Goldeneyes dive continually dive Goldeneyes In 2003, the SAC was extended to include the include to extended was SAC the 2003, In valley) of the Spey. The loose rocks and the and rocks loose The Spey. the of valley)

Many mussels have mussels Many

candidacy as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Conservation of Area Special a as candidacy create the great srath (Gaelic for broad for (Gaelic srath great the create

Countryside Act. Countryside

and its importance further recognised by recognised further importance its and glaciers tore away much of the rock to rock the of much away tore glaciers

the Wildlife & Wildlife the

and toads. and

of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1998 in (SSSI) Interest Scientific Special of During the last 2.5 million years, huge years, million 2.5 last the During

their protection under protection their

such as salmon, trout and eel; they also enjoy frogs enjoy also they eel; and trout salmon, as such

In recognition, the Spey was notified as a Site a as notified was Spey the recognition, In

helped by Operation Necklace which has highlighted has which Necklace Operation by helped

eat all kinds of fish but prefer those with plentiful fat, plentiful with those prefer but fish of kinds all eat

Monadhliath and Cairngorm ranges. Cairngorm and Monadhliath

one of the few rivers where they continue to thrive - thrive to continue they where rivers few the of one

its many lochans, ponds and marshy patches. Otters patches. marshy and ponds lochans, many its

mussel and sea lamprey. lamprey. sea and mussel peaks to leave the rounded shapes of the of shapes rounded the leave to peaks

management of rivers and catchments. The Spey is Spey The catchments. and rivers of management

provides water of high quality and abundant food in food abundant and quality high of water provides

are the Atlantic salmon, otter, freshwater pearl freshwater otter, salmon, Atlantic the are formed. Rain, sun, wind, rivers and ice eroded many eroded ice and rivers wind, sun, Rain, formed.

of over-fishing, pollution and poor and pollution over-fishing, of

in Scotland for these agile swimmers. The catchment The swimmers. agile these for Scotland in

or endangered in a European context - these - context European a in endangered or Mountains were Mountains

change over time, over change endangered across Europe as a result a as Europe across endangered

However, the Spey is one of the best freshwater sites freshwater best the of one is Spey the However,

its outstanding habitats for threatened species, threatened for habitats outstanding its Spey so that the banks" gravel bars and pools and bars gravel banks" the that so Spey species in particular, that are rare, threatened rare, are that particular, in species

Freshwater pearl mussels are mussels pearl Freshwater

have suffered from destruction of their habitat. their of destruction from suffered have Statutory protection for the Spey will help to conserve to help will Spey the for protection Statutory Successive floods gradually shift the bed of the of bed the shift gradually floods Successive

The river and its tributaries are home to four to home are tributaries its and river The granite rocks of the of rocks granite

undergrowth. In many other parts of Europe, otters Europe, of parts other many In undergrowth.

years ago, the ago, years

large area of little-disturbed waterside with plenty of plenty with waterside little-disturbed of area large ‘Operation Necklace’ ‘Operation

aquatic environment of the highest quality. quality. highest the of environment aquatic than 400 million 400 than

which takes in a in takes which

of it .... has an has .... it of catchment ... all 3008km all ... catchment More events. major

2

bank is often chosen to give direct access to the water. the to access direct give to chosen often is bank (droppings) and (droppings)

unmodified and unpolluted. Accordingly, the Accordingly, unpolluted. and unmodified two to character

The site of an otter’s sheltered holt under the river the under holt sheltered otter’s an of site The

with spraints with

as well as in many tributaries. many in as well as above sea level, the river is largely is river the level, sea above its of much owes

which it marks it which

spawn throughout most of its length its of most throughout spawn highest of the Cairngorm hills over 1300m over hills Cairngorm the of highest and Scotland in

its own territory, own its

obstructions, mean salmon can salmon mean obstructions, Spey flows into the , to the to Firth, Moray the into flows Spey river longest second

Every otter needs otter Every

flow, and its lack of pollution and pollution of lack its and flow, From the rivers’ mouth at where the where Bay Spey at mouth rivers’ the From the is Spey The

The water’s fast and relatively even relatively and fast water’s The

for otters for river system river islands and

(stretches) of the lower river. river. lower the of (stretches)

res des A Protecting a unique a Protecting lands High try their luck along the beats the along luck their try

A walk on the wild side

TheThe A map of the Spey deceives as it informs for it can’t swiftness. It’s a RiverRiver Spey Spey show the subtleties of the river’s flow, the light and river that shade of its landscape nor the complex ‘web of life’ conjures many CatchmentCatchment that links water, plants and animals. other pictures too - of salmon, The map does show a river, 157km (98 miles) long, whisky, ospreys surging from the high moorland of the Monadhliath or otters; of (Grey Mountains) and meandering through the lands walking, of , Strathspey and Speyside before rushing canoeing, fishing or pinewoods: or simply ever- into the Moray Firth. changing waters.

The river’s name is Celtic, probably meaning The Spey offers all these pleasures and more. It’s a hawthorn stream but perhaps describing its frothing river to savour, remember and respect.

Magnum et miserabile flumen" quod vocatur Spe (the large and dangerous river" which is called Spey) from a &'th century manuscript De Situ Albaniae The following publications are all available for download as pdf files from www.snh.org.uk/spey The Catchment Management Plan River works on the Spey and its Tributaries: Who to contact and how to proceed The Economic Impact of Water-related Recreation in the River Spey Catchment 2003 An Investigation of the Scope for Improved Farm Water and Waste Management in the Spey Catchment The Spey Catchment leaflet For hard copies and further information please contact: Spey Catchment Steering Group Achantoul, , -shire, PH22 1QD

Photography by Laurie Campbell, Keith Ringland, Pete Moore, Iain Sarjeant, John Macpherson, P&A Macdonald/SNH, Sue Scott/SNH, Lorne Gill/SNH, Council/ Text based on original by Michael Glen, Touchstone Heritage Management Consultants Map by Wendy Price Painting by Gillian Jones Design by Iain Sarjeant Printed by Nevisprint on environmentally friendly paper, 2004 Timber" floods and fishing by the collation of guidance on river engineering and And it doesn’t only go in ,,, Working an educational resource to raise awareness of the importance of the river community has also been waters In 1539, the first recorded consignment The catchment is more than just a home to the special produced. of timber from Strathspey was floated creatures and habitats we’ve mentioned ... Like many other down the river to Speymouth. Over and more than just a glorious backdrop for great rivers, the the next 350 years or so, large areas our pleasure. The river is a drain for Spey and its tributaries play their part in the local of Caledonian pine forest were felled When the river acidified rainfall, for summer economy. Nature conservation and outdoor to build ships and houses. Much floods, for washed-out salts and runs through it; RIVER recreation are increasingly valuable means of went south by sea but Garmouth SPEY silts from our roads and for treated Water resources generating income from naturalists, photographers, and Kingston later became sewage and trade effluent. painters, anglers, water sports enthusiasts and shipbuilding ports in their own and flooding walkers. A network of paths and routes such as the rights. NATIONAL PARK With much of the catchment long distance route encourage There are times when the river runs floodplain being agricultural land, exploration of the area. Increasing road transport demanded riot. Snow melt or prolonged rainfall we needed to find out whether that the Spey be bridged and Telford’s arch Timber from cause the hillsides to flow with water, modern farming was a threat to estates along the Spey was A recent study determined that at Craigellachie is the most graceful of any burns and culverts to boil and the Spey to water quality and if so, how things floated" or rafted" down the Spey visitors undertaking water related structure. It still until the early &;55s, spill out onto the floodplain. could be improved. recreation in the Spey catchment, stands, having escaped (principally angling, sailing and damage in the Tonnes of water pass through the canoeing) spent around £13.5m in ‘Muckle Spate’ (big catchment each year; the long term 2003 and supported over 400 jobs. flood) of 1829 that average flow (measured at a gauging devastated much station in the lower catchment), is 65 Moray Firth Fishing has long been an economic of Strathspey and ‘cumecs’ - or 65 cubic metres per second A941 A98 To Fraserburgh mainstay of the riverside communities, ... that’s about one hundred and thirty Kingston Tugnet Speyside To Inverness Garmouth Spey A96 Elgin Bay generating significant income for the area, including many of the other seven thousand pints every second! and providing employment. With an The chain operated ferry bridges. Flooding remains a Fochabers across the River Spey at Lossie increase in the popularity of outdoor recreation in In &<&'" after Telford designed The river changes its course constantly A96 problem today when flash E served Spey Craigellachie Bridge – Scotland’s first recent years, together with changes in legislation, travellers until a bridge River A941 but spates can change it dramatically; D storms turn the river and its bridge – he took local advice er was built in &<;;, we’re all facing new challenges in the management of tributaries into torrents. and fortunately" built it five feet higher sometimes overnight; carving, scouring, I Riv than planned S our shared resource. moving, depositing. Keith Y Ben Aigan ¥ E 471m To Aberdeen A96 P Craigellachie A95 The River Spey A complex system of automatic S Upper Knockando Spey Charlestown Part of a park monitoring is in place to enable River of Project '55& '558 A920 flood-warnings to be issued to A95 A939 To and Nairn A941 The icehouse at Tugnet is a reminder Tourism is big business and with the designation of farmers and other residents Ben of the days when fresh salmon were Rinnes h ic To Deeside the Cairngorms as Scotland’s second National Park, ¥ d packed for delivery by rail to towns 841m id The Spey is such an important of impending flood risk. F and cities throughout Britain, the special features of the area are likely to reach an von r e resource for so many people, it’s A v A95 i R even wider following. only natural that everyone Grantown- To Inverness on-Spey Spey A9 Dulnain R. River recognises the need to ensure its future protection. In Whooper swans" winter Bridge River A938 ¥ 2 visitors from Iceland" feed Hills of Livet The Park covers 3816 km and includes two thirds of Cromdale722m 1999 a group of key agencies and authorities (Moray across the flooded meadows Dulnain River Y at Ruthven on the Nethy the River Spey Catchment within its boundary - & Highland Councils, Scottish Natural Heritage, The A95 Bridge Marshes reserve E A939 including the majority of the important upper Spey District Fishery Board & The Scottish Boat of Garten P Dulnain Loch k A939 Garten tributaries; the Rivers Avon, Feshie, Tromie and Environment Protection Agency) started to consider S To Deeside s River of Ailnac Truim.

Nethy how best to develop a more integrated approach to n H ater i Aviemore W T

a River its management. They combined to form the Spey Loch t A n Glenmore The Park was established with four specific aims; Catchment Steering Group. u Alvie R Loch o Morlich Avon T h M River S to conserve and enhance the natural and h k The Farm Water and Waste Study audited t a Loch Feshiebridge Cairngorm r cultural heritage of the area i River Einic ¥ s Two years ... and a partnership application to the l ¥ Insh Insh 1245m n a a selection of farms throughout the h Carn A9 Marches a i d Ban t n a 941m Insh n P to promote the sustainable use of the natural Highlands and Island Special Transitional Fund M o Sgoran Dubh Mor u catchment and found that there was much to ¥ o 1108m M l Loch a resources later, the River Spey Project began. Carn Leac H Einich be commended in the way they are run. It also ¥ A86 881m C m n B N O r o to promote the understanding and enjoyment Laggan A D E o i identified a few, small changes in management, Riv eshie F t er omie g Spey Spey r n a of the Park and One of the main outcomes from the Loch R. Spey r N which could make a big difference.

Catlodge River River T i m s to promote the sustainable economic and social project has been a Catchment a o r C a i r n g Management Plan. A86 C But it doesn’t only go in to the river .... considerable development of the area’s communities. Creag Meagaidh ggan ¥ h La L 1128m Loc © Wendy Price Cartographic Services, Inverness 2004. The plan provides O Based upon Ordnance Survey mapping with the quantities of water are also taken from the catchment A9 permission of the Ordnance Survey on behalf of Once again, the Catchment Management Plan has C the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown copyright. a timely H ht Scottish Natural Heritage licence number GD03006G/01/01. A86 resource; In the upper catchment there are large dams started to address some of these issues A To Fort B h Eric stepping-stone for William Loc diverting water as part of hydro schemes. Water is and provides a few E R the measures included To Perth drawn for domestic supply from a loch high in the blocks for the Park under the Water Framework Cairngorms and also from a large well-field on the Authority to Directive. This new European riverbank, near Fochabers, in the lower catchment. build upon in legislation makes it a This allows stock to be Near Aviemore, water is drawn from the River Druie developing their requirement to have moved and in extreme to service a large fish farm. National Park integrated management and conditions, houses to be Plan. protection of water quantity, evacuated in advance. Famously, the catchment is the home of a thriving quality and physical habitat. whisky industry. The water of the Spey and its tributaries are used both Over the years, much The Spey is an upland river and the run off in its Over to our children ,,, But the River Spey Project hasn’t just been about bank protection work has catchment is rapid" resulting in sudden spates at almost as an ingredient and in the any time of the year, planning; its also about doing. taken place. Rock process. Around 30 malt We wanted to make sure that the young people of armouring has smoothed curves, turning the river whisky distilleries produce Moray, , who live in the Over the past three years, gaps in knowledge have and keeping it where people want it to be. Dredging their own distinctive catchment, understand their cultural and natural been filled by studies of economics and farm waste, has cleared channels and re-dug the pools filled with ‘drams’ of uisge beatha heritage and so another output of the project has been spate gravels. These actions to ‘contain’ have often from the Spey waters. ‘Riverbanks’. contributed to subsequent flooding problems. We now know the extent of impacts on the river and the Surface water is drawn ‘Riverbanks’ are boxes of books, videos, fact sheets important species that live in and around it and river directly from the river or and images explaining everything about the works are regulated. from small tributary burns catchment; its history and who and what lives here. as a coolant; It passes We included things like feathers and rocks, bird rings, More often than not, there’s a time through the distillery .... fishing nets and music to help people appreciate the and a place (and a way), which will and then most of it goes rivers influence on their lives. minimise damage to the river. To back into the river system help people through the tricky - perhaps a few degrees process and put them in contact warmer - downstream. The water drawn from springs by each with the right people for advice, This ‘uplift’ of the water distillery is largely responsible for the we’ve published a ‘Riverworks temperature is also closely subtle variations in the taste of individual malt whiskies, code’. regulated.

After ;< miles" the waters of the Spey spill in the Moray Firth through the shifting gravels at Spey Bay