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The River Spey

Famous for salmon fishing and whisky distilleries, the Spey is Scotland's second longest and fastest-flowing river

The River Spey

The Spey is the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. From its source at Loch Spey in the Monadhliath Mountains, it flows 172 km (107 miles) north east through the Cairngorms National Park and meets the North Sea at the Moray Firth.

The River Spey drains an extensive upland catchment, covering approximately 3,008 square km (1,161 square miles). Flowing from its source 16 km (10 miles) south of Fort Augustus, it descents through Newtonmore and Kingussie, crossing Loch Insh before reaching Aviemore. As the river flows through north east Scotland it passes many villages and towns including Boat of Garten, Grantown-on-Spey, Rothes and Fochabers. It is fed by many tributaries including the Rivers Calder and Dulnain (draining from the Monadhliath Mountains) and the Rivers Fiddich, Avon, Nethy, Druie, Feshie, Tromie and Truim (draining from the south-east Cairngorms) before eventually reaching the sea at Spey Bay, five miles west of Buckie.

The Spey is world-famous for its whisky distilleries and salmon fishing. It is designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its populations of Atlantic salmon, freshwater pearl mussels, sea lamprey and otters, which are considered of national and European importance. There are many other designated sites across the catchment including Spey Bay (SSSI, SAC), the Burn of Ballintomb (SSSI) and Insh Marshes (SAC, SSSI, SPA (Species Protection Area)).

Our project partner for the Spey catchment is Spey Fishery Board.

Spey Fishery Board

Our Activities

Click the expandable sections to find out more about our plant control activities; information on American mink is listed below.

Giant hogweed is one of the main species we are controlling on the River Spey, working in collaboration with volunteers, land owners and land managers.

The upstream source is on the Auchlunkart / Mulben Burn near Mulben. The burn joins the Spey at Boat o’ Brig; downstream of the confluence there is a significant infestation on the main stem of the river. Our work begins at this upstream source with our current downstream limit at Newton, a few miles downstream of Fochabers.

Work is also taking place on the Burn of Tynet, a separate coastal burn which runs to the sea near Portgordon, thanks to contributions from Crown Estate Scotland.

Japanese knotweed is one of the key species we are tackling in the Spey catchment, working in collaboration with volunteers, land owners and land managers.

The upstream sources are at Aberlour (on the Spey) and Dufftown (on the River Fiddich). There is also a minor infestation on the Mulben burn. In some areas there are really significant outbreaks, with large infestations extending hundreds of metres off the river banks.

Our work begins at the upstream sources with our current downstream limit at Newton, a few miles downstream of Fochabers.

American skunk cabbage is present in scattered locations in the Spey catchment. It is an emerging problem and has not yet spread extensively along rivers banks but infestations can be found in patches. Sightings from members of the public have been especially valuable for this species and have identified many of our control sites. Control work is carried out in collaboration with land managers and volunteers.

We are controlling notable infestations around Nethybridge, Rothes, Aberlour, Fochabers and on the Caochan Airgid Burn, a tributary to the River Avon. We are aware of further infestations near Newtonmore, Grantown and Ballindalloch and intend to begin controlling these sites this season (2025).

Himalayan knotweed is a localised problem at Orton and Dipple. We believe we are controlling the full extent of the infestation. Please notify us if you see this species present anywhere in Speyside.

White butterbur is not currently a target species for the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative and it not controlled in other areas within the project. It is a prolific problem in Speyside.

Thanks to contributions from local distillaries we are deploying contractors annually to the River Fiddich to tackle infested areas. 

American mink

The Spey is a major catchment in the project, covering an extensive area within the Cairngorms National Park as well as lowland and coastal areas. Our most upstream raft is at Dalwhinnie, with the network extending all the way to the Spey estuary and to additional coastal burns.

Currently (spring 2025) we have 88 active mink rafts and traps in the Spey system with a network of 53 dedicated volunteers monitoring these.

Within the Cairngorms National Park we are working closely with park authorities, who in 2023 made a generous contribution the project to expand our network. With the help of this funding we were able to increase our mink network within the park area to include a total of 64 mink rafts and traps, collectively monitored by 28 volunteers (figures from August 2024).

Meet your local Project Officer

Karen has been with the project since it began in 2018, initially as Seasonal Project Officer for the Deveron, Ugie and Ythan river catchments before taking on the Project Officer role in 2020. In Phase 2 of the project (2023-2026) she moved over to the Spey.

Karen co-ordinates plant control activities and oversees the mink trapping network across the River Spey catchment. If you are a landowner, land manager, community group or local organisation in this area and would like to get involved in the project, please get in touch.

07946353117 k.muller@speyfisheryboard.com

Volunteering Opportunities

Find out more about volunteering opportunities available in Speyside. You can also visit our Volunteering page to find out about opportunities available across the project and for further details on these activities.

Sign up to volunteer

If you are interested in volunteering please complete the online registration form. Your local contact will then be in touch.

Register