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A notable
river, the Dee rises deep in the heart of the Cairngorm mountains
on the Braeriach plateau, some 4,000 feet above sea level in
an area known as the Wells of Dee and it eventually reaches
the sea at Aberdeen, some 87 miles from its source.
The so called
wells are ice cold springs from whose accumulated waters the
river originates and, after crossing the wastes of Braeriaeh,
drops into the Garbh
Choire (the Rough Corrie) and the cleft separating Cairn Toul
from the rest of the mountain range. The infant river
then runs south through Glen Dee, between the stern bulwarks
of Sgor Mor and Beinn Bhrotain to join the Geldie
Burn and turn eastward towards distant Girdle Ness.
Running through the gorge of the Linn of Dee, the river flows
past Morrone Hill to be joined by Quoieh Water before reaching
Braemar. A sporting centre and the home of the famous Braemar
Highland Gatherings, it stands a little to the south upon the
Clunie Water which comes down to the Dee from the heights of
Cairnwell. It was here, in 1715, that the Earl of Mar raised
his Standard in
support of the Old Pretender. Traces remain of Kindrochit Castle,
once a 14th century hunting lodge for King Robert I. Running
eastward, the Dee passes through Royal Deeside”, which
still retains vestiges of the elegant order of the pre-1914
world. Looming over the well kept forests and banks and splendid
houses and gardens are the frowning bulks of the Lochnagar,
Cairn Taggart and Fafernie peaks. On this bank of the Dee lies
Invercauld House, described by one observer as a “granite-turreted
chaos”, and built in the 19th century.
Queen Victoria
of course loved and did much to popularise the Highlands. Situated
on an outstanding position overlooking the river, Balmoral Castle
was built to her specifications on the site of a former castle,
long the residence of the Farquharsons and, before them, the
Gordons. The Prince Consort lent considerable weight to the
plans of the re-designed castle which was built in
Scottish baronial style by William Smith of Aberdeen. The granite
for its construction was quarried from the
Balmoral estate and is reputed to be the tinest such stone in
Scotland. The whole estate encompasses some 24,000 acres and
continues to be the personal property of the Crown.
The Dee
below Balmoral adopts a winding and slow moving course until
it reaches Ballater, where it once more increases in tempo.
The Ballater bridge commemorates the fact that several structures
which occupied this spot over the years did not survive the
river’s unpredictable flow but the present structure has
stood since 1885. The pleasant little town of Ballater nestles
in a bend of the river, near the confluence of the Dee with
the river Muick, with Craig Cailleach (the Hill of the Old Woman)
and the dome-shaped Craigendarroch in the background. Known
as the gateway to Royal Deeside,
it is a splendid centre for touring, climbing and walking. It
has a golf course and the fishing is excellent.
Below Dinnet
and beneath the frowning crags of the Forest of Birse, Braid
Cairn, the Hill of Cat and
Mulnabracks, the Dee is joined by the Burn of Dinnet, said by
some to mark the boundary point between Highlands and Lowlands.
True or not, as the Dee flows on toward Aboyne the land opens
out ahead, although the mountains are always there in the background
both
north and south.
Aboyne’s
Highland Games are held on an open space called the Green of
Charleston. Historically the town itself only dates back to
the 1880’s but Aboyne Castle is of 13th century origin
and contains the Formaston Stone
of 800 A.D., which is a fragment of an elaborate Celtic cross.
At Kincardine O’Neil there was once a ferry, this tiny
village being at the northern end of the old road up through
the Cairn O’Mount pass across the mountains into Glen
Dye. Further east, at Banchory, is the entrance to the valley
of the river Feugh, while, to the north, is
the Hill of Fare, an outrider of the distant Cairngorm peaks
and only a few miles from the sea. Beyond Durris, the Dee forms
part of the boundary between Kincardine and Aberdeen counties,
being joined by the Gormack Burn at Peterculter, where a paper
mill was established as long ago as 1751.
At Aberdeen
the Dee reaches the North Sea, a splendid conclusion to its
long voyage east from the mountains.
The ‘Granite City’ is Scotland’s third largest
and its site is bounded by the Dee on the south and the Don
to the north. Long established both as a premier fishing port
and a holiday centre, Aberdeen is also an historic Royal burgh
and the commercial centre of the north-east.
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