Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

SPEDLINS TOWER
Henry Gilchrist- Clark, Esq. (b. 1861; sue. 1881).— Ord.
Sur., sh. 9, 1863.
Spedlins Tower. See Jardine Hall.
Spey (the Tuessis of Ptolemy), a river rising near the
centre of the southern part of Inverness-shire, and flow-
ing first E and then NE through that county, and there-
after NE through the county of Elgin, or on the boun-
dary between that county and Banffshire, till it reaches
the sea near the centre of Spey Bay between Lossiemouth
and Portknockie. It is the most rapid river in Scot-
land, and in point of length and volume of water is
inferior only to the Tay — taking the longest tributary
among the head waters of that river as forming the
source — while the area of its drainage basin is inferior
only to those of the Tay and Tweed. The Spey and
the smaller streams flowing to it drain all the south-
eastern part of Inverness-shire except the extreme S
(nearly \ of the area of the whole county), all the eastern
part of the county of Elgin (nearly half the whole area),
and all the upper, and the greater portion of the central
district of Banffshire (also nearly half the area of the
whole county). The NW side of the drainage basin
begins at Corrieyairack, which divides the upper waters
of the Spey from those of the Tarff flowing to Loch Ness;
and from that mountain the line of watershed stretches
away to the north-eastward along the Monadhliadh
Mountains, which divide it first from the Loch Ness
basin and then from that of the Eindhorn. At the N
end of these heights the line strikes across the Slochd-
muick Pass, and keeps north-eastward along the heights
of Braemoray, to the E of the Knock — these separating
it from the valleys of the Divie and Dorbock (Findhorn
basin). At Knockando it turns eastward along the
Mannoch Hill, and, passing to the N of the village of
Rothes, follows a north-easterly and northerly course to
the sea. The heights last mentioned separate the Spey
basin from that of the Lossie. On the SE side, begin-
ning at the sea, the line passes southwards, to the E of
the village of Fochabers, to between Mulben and Keith,
where it curves first south-westward and then south-
eastward round the source of the Isla, and thereafter
follows mainly a south-westerly direction, first along
the high ground between Glen Fiddich and the upper
waters of the Deveron, and then between Glen Livet
and the upper waters of the Deveron. At the upper
end of Strathdeveron it becomes identical with the
boundary between the counties of Banff and Aberdeen,
and follows that line along the heights round the head
of Strathdon which separate it from the middle part of
the valley of the Aven ; and farther S along those that
separate Glen Aven from the upper part of the valley
of the Dee, by Ben Avon (3843 feet), Beinn a Bhuiid
(3924) Beinn a Chaoruinn (3553), and Ben Muieh Dhui
(4244) to the point on the SW slope of Cairngorm
where the counties of Inverness, Banff, and Aberdeen
meet. From this the line of watershed is identical with
the boundary line first between the counties of Inverness
and Aberdeen, and thereafter between the counties of
Inverness and Perth, as far as the Athole Sow. From
the Athole Sow the line passes northwards close to Loch
Ericht, round the N end of that loch, and back along
the opposite side as far as Meall Cruaidh (2941 feet),
whence it again passes northward between the Mashie
Water (Spey) and river Pattack (Loch Laggan), round
the N end of Loch Laggan to Cam Liath (3298). Thence
it passes with a curve to the NW up the slope of Creag
a' Chait to the top of Carn Leac (2889 feet), and from
that across the Pass of Corrieyairack (2507) to Corrie-
yairack itself (2922). The total area of the basin may
be taken as about 1300 square miles; and the whole
length of the river from source to sea, following all the
windings, is 107 miles.
The source is a small stream which rises about 1500
feet above sea-level on the SE side of Creag a' Chait,
5 miles from the western shore of Loch Laggan, and
close to the watershed between the E and W coasts of
Scotland — the head waters of the river Eoy, which flows
to the Spean, coming from the same shoulder. About
1 mile from the source this head-stream expands into
1496
SPEY
the small Loch Spey (3 furlongs by 100 yards, and 1142
feet above sea-level), and from this the course is east-
ward for 15 miles, till beyond Cluny Castle it turns to
the NE, and then more to the N as it approaches the
sea. The total length of the course, inclusive of wind-
ings, in Inverness-shire, is 53f miles; for 5J miles there-
after it forms the boundary between the counties of
Inverness and Elgin ; from a point 2 miles S of Cromdale
Church, NW to about a mile from the mouth of the
Aven, it flows through Elginshire; for more than 22
miles from this point near the Aven to Ordiequish —
except at Rothes, where for a short distance it has Elgin-
shire territory on either side — it forms the boundary
between the counties of Elgin and Banff; and over the
rest of the course it is through Elginshire. Thirty -three
and one-half miles from the source the river expands
into Loch Insh (1 x \ mile, and 721 feet above sea-level).
Within 4 miles of Loch Spey the river receives a very
large number of tributary streams— forming the minor
head waters — of which the chief are a stream (S) from a
height of 3000 feet from Coire a Bhan-eoin W of Carn
Liath; another (N) from about 2600 on Carn Leac, the
Allt Yairack (N) from the Pass of Corrieyairack, and
the Allt a Chaoruinn (S) from Carn Liath. In the E
and W part of the course the other principal tributaries
are the Markie Burn (N) from Glen Markie, Mashie
Water (S) from Strath Mashie, and the Allt Breakachy
(S). About 2 miles below the point where the river
turns to the NE it is joined by the Truim, from Glen
Truim, at the battlefield of Invernahavon ; and between
that and Loch Insh are the Calder (N) at Spey Bridge
near Newtonmore, the Kingussie Burn (N) at Kingussie,
the river Tromie (S) from Glen Tromie, and the Raitts
Burn (N) at Belleville. Half-a-mile below Loch Insh
is the Feshie (S) from Glen Feshie, and between this
and the point where the river quits Inverness-shire are
the Druie (S) from Rothiemurchus Forest and Glenmore,
at Aviemore; Milton Burn (S) at Kincardine; the Nethy
(S) from Abernethy Forest and Strath Nethy; and the
Dulnan (NW). In the upper part of Elginshire the
Spey is joined by a large number of streams, but none
of them are of any great size, the chief on the NW side
being the Craggan, Cromdale, Dellifur, Tulchan, and
Gheallaidh Burns, and a little above the latter is the
Aven from the S. Between this and Ordiequish the
chief tributaries on the Elginshire side are the Allt
Aider, Knockando Burn, Ballintomb Burn, and the
burns described in the account of the parish of Rothes;
and on the Banffshire side Carron and Aberlour Burns,
and the Fiddich, the latter joining at Lower Craigel-
lachie. Above Ordiequish the basin narrows, and here
the side streams are small, the largest being the Red or
Orbliston Burn on the left bank, and the Burn of Foch-
abers on the right.
The Spey has but little commercial importance, as no
part of it is properly navigable, though there was for-
merly, and is to some extent still, a natural harbour
suitable enough for small vessels, at the mouth of the
river at Kingston. This was, however, rendered incon-
venient, first by the shifting of the river mouth steadily
westward subsequent to 1831, and still more so in 1860
by the cutting of a new channel at the point where the
river now joins the sea — an operation rendered necessary
by this shifting. Shipbuilding is still carried on at the
mouth at both Kingston and Gaemouth, and timber
is still taken in rafts or ' floats ' down the river from
the woods along the middle reaches, though not to the
same extent as of old. The Spey is the third salmon
river in Scotland, ranking next the Tay and Tweed.
The fishings are in the hands of many proprietors, the
Duke of Richmond and Gordon's extending from Boat
of Bridge to the sea. The upper fishings are poor,
except when floods enable the fish to get readily past
the cruive on the Richmond waters. No trout fishing
is allowed from 15 April to 1 June, in order to protect
the smolts on their way to the sea, and the net fishing
closes on the 26 August, but the rod fishing not till the
15 October.
The channel along the lower part of the course often