HCC 4 day expedition down the River Spey from Aviemore to Spey Bay
03 – 06 Oct 24
Tom Ridsdill Leader
Stewart McCarthey
Steven McKeown
Day 1. ( 13.8 miles, 22.2 Km.) With the club trailer in tow we departed Helensburgh in the early hours of Thursday and arrived up in Aviemore to drop the boats and kit off and sort the shuttle.
By 1400 we were ready to set off from the Old Bridge Inn beach and began our 4 day expedition. Right from the get go we came across tree debris and strainers on each bend. This would have been quite a tricky first exposure to white water canoeing for a novice. Steve was not a novice on white water but this was, however, the first time he had been down a river in a canoe. To say he did well would be an understatement. He impressed Stewart and me with his control and choice of line and it only took a few kms to achieve this.
With the Cairngorm mountains in our rear view mirror we paddled north east and began to question our choice of attire. Dry suits were starting to get roasty toasty. There was no wind and the sun was out. But so were the Herons, Buzzards, Dippers, King fishers, and ducks. The salmon were leaping too.
Boat of Balliefurth farm was our abode for the night. A £5er each meant we could set up camp, have a fire and have the use of a toilet. Not bad. The field was large enough to share with a large armada of Edinburgh Uni students, most of whom seemed to come from the USA. They certainly enjoyed their night.
Day 2 (32 miles, 51.5 Km)
Reveille was at 0800 and by 10 we were back afloat and keen to put a dent into the total milage. The morning started with rain but this was only so that we had to pack up wet camping gear. The wind turned up too. It was a shame we didn’t have sails as it was blowing SSW and would have been ideal. We soon overtook the Edinburgh Armada and enjoyed the ever increasing frequency of rapids. We also had a fleeting glimpse of an otter as it dived below the surface. The frequency of Salmon leaping increased which was awesome. Sadly, none of them decided to leap into our boats!
The last rapid of the day was the famous “Washing Machine” of Blacksboat. Shortly thereafter, at around 1630, we decided to stop for the day and found ourselves a great spot to wild camp. A further 30ish km in the bag. I thought pimping my bivi would be a great addition to our camp. But so did all the midges, moths and mosquitoes!! (Last time I do that)
Day 3 (47 Miles, 75.6 Km)
Knockando came a knocking. Day 3 was the main grade 2 rapid section but with low water levels it was a tad more technical than normal. It was a joy and a lot of fun for all three of us working out the lines and manoeuvring the boats around the plethora of rocks, “stealth rocks” and tree debris. (Stealth rocks was the term we gave to the ones that just appeared.). By this point Steven was a wiz at controlling his canoe.
The rapids just kept coming and by 1400 we arrived at Charlestown of Aberlour. This was perhaps the only negative of the whole journey. The high hopes for a nice coffee in fant of the picture perfect village green was dashed by the foul taste of Kenco instant! (not a fan at the worst of times).
However, we soon set off in search of our next camping spot which emerged on the outskirts of Rothes. Another fine island with decent camping spots was marred by the loud noise of the combines and tractors on one side of the island and the factory and sewages works on the other. It was still incredibly pleasant and a third evening around a fire was enjoyed.
The amount of invasive plant species started to increase. This was very evident on the last day but, after a further 25km we settled in for the night.
Day 4 61 miles, 98.1 Km
The morning threatened more rain and just before camp was struck the rain tried. Well, enough of it came to ensure our tents and bivis were damp before packing. This last part was deceptive. We knew this though and ensured we remained on guard round all the bends right through to the sea.
The landscape throughout the journey varied immensely but, in my opinion, not as much as on this last day. The hill abruptly stopped and the landscape became more of an open low lands of farming and marsh. The river meandered all the way and on many bends we were faced with low shingle rapids flowing right into the path of nasty strainers in the form of tree roots and branches. The Spey certainly made us work right through to the end. However, on both sides of the river was Himalayan Balsam and huge numbers of Japanese knotweed. Such a shame but it also meant we needed to make doubly sure we clean our gear thoroughly before venturing on further river systems.
The final part before the drive back to Aviemore was to enjoy a late lunch at Spey Bay Golf Club. They were very kind enough to allow us to park a car and trailer there over the 4 days and asked for nothing in return. The least we could do was to have a brew there. However, the menu looked too tempting and, I must say, the beef, haggis and smoked hickory cheese burger was deeeelicious.
Thank you to Steve and Stewart for allowing me to lead them both down the Spey. It was a pleasure and till next time.
Tom