Читать книгу The Speyside Way. A Scottish Great Trail, includes the Dava Way and Moray Coast trails онлайн

18 страница из 54

A fisherman in the River Spey on the approach to Tugnet (Beryl Castle) (Speyside Way)

Until the 18th and 19th centuries the river was either forded or crossed by ferry at various points along its length. Then the great bridge builders took over. Craigellachie Bridge over the Spey, the oldest surviving bridge in Scotland, was designed by Thomas Telford and built between 1812 and 1814. The longest bridge over the river is the large Garmouth viaduct built in 1886 – the force and changing course of the Spey being the reasons for its great width. Timber-floating began on the river in the middle of the 16th century, but during the 18th and 19th centuries there was massive log-floating activity from Strathspey to service the extensive shipbuilding industry at Kingston, with Speymouth becoming one of the major exporters of timber in Britain. Today most craft on the river are recreational canoes.

The Spey is one of the most important rivers for Atlantic salmon and sea trout in Western Europe. On average over 7500 salmon and 3500 sea trout are rod-caught each year, generating over £8 million per annum for the local economy. The Spey Fishery Board was established in the 1860s under Salmon Fisheries legislation and is still today responsible for the management, protection, enhancement and conservation of salmon and sea trout stocks in the river. A team of bailiffs patrols the river and coastline, as poaching is a serious problem, and the bailiffs are also responsible for the Board's hatchery, where up to a million River Spey salmon are hatched and distributed to rebuild stocks in depleted areas. The Spey Research Trust is another responsibility of the Board; it both monitors stocks and promotes awareness of the Board's work to locals and tourists. Sea lamprey, freshwater pearl and otter, which are endangered or rare, also survive in the clean waters of the Spey. This has resulted in the river being designated both as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).