River Spey

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River Spey
The River Spey at Aberlour
The River Spey at Aberlour
Origin Loch Spey (grid reference NN419937)
Mouth Moray Firth at Spey Bay
Basin countries Scotland
Length 107 miles (172 km)
Avg. discharge 64 m³/s[1]
Basin area 3008 km²[1]

The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the north-east of Scotland, the second longest and the fastest flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishing and whisky production.

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[edit] Course

Rising at over 1000 feet (300 m) at Loch Spey in Corrieyairack Forest in the Scottish Highlands, 10 miles (16 km) south of Fort Augustus, it descends to flow through Newtonmore and Kingussie crossing Loch Insh before reaching Aviemore at the start of Strathspey. From there it flows the remaining 60 miles north-east to the Moray Firth.

The Spey changes its course very frequently, either (relatively) gradually as a result of deposition and erosion from normal flow, or in a matter of hours as a result of going into spate. The Spey spates very quickly due to its wide catchment area in the mountains, as a result of rainfall or snowmelt.

Insh Marshes, areas of roughly two miles on either side of the Spey in the lower reaches are designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as are the extensive shingle systems at Spey Bay.

[edit] Industry

The river traditionally supported many local industries, from the still popular salmon fishing industry to shipbuilding. At one stage, Garmouth was the shipbuilding capital of the UK, with timber from the forests around Aviemore and Aberlour being rafted down to create wooden hulled ships.

The river is also known for the quality of its salmon and trout fishing, including a particular form of fly fishing where the fisher uses a double-handed fly rod to throw a 'spey cast' whereby the fly and the line do not travel behind the fisher (thereby keeping these away from the bushes and trees lining the banks behind him or her). This type of cast was developed on the Spey.

Speyside distilleries produce more whisky than any other region.

The Speyside Way is a long-distance footpath that follows the River Spey through some of Morayshire's most beautiful scenery.

The River Spey is unusual in that it increases speed as it flows closer to the coast, due to the surrounding geography. The mean flow is around 16 m/s making it the fastest flowing river in Scotland, possibly the UK (depending on what constitutes a river.) The Spey does not meander, although it does rapidly move its banks. South of Fochabers the banks are reinforced with a high earth barrier, but this has been broken by the river on several occasions, removing a large portion of Garmouth Golf Course, sections of wall surrounding Gordon Castle, parts of the Speyside Way and some of the B9104 road.

The Spey railway bridge (now pedestrianised) Spey Bay to Garmouth was originally designed with the main span over the main flow of the river, however before construction was completed the river had changed its course and was running at one end of the bridge.

Ptolemy named the river as Tuesis Aest.

[edit] Settlements

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[edit] External links

  1. ^ a b Spey Fishery Board. Retrieved on August 21, 2006.