110 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



building is of Aberdeen granite, and its appearance is so well known 

 and so justly admired, that no feeble description of mine is 

 necessary. A vista is maintained to the west giving a view up the 

 river towards the mountains. No view of this river was possible 

 from the old house. My photograph is taken from the bank of the 

 river looking down the vista to the castle. 



Abergeldie (the mouth of the clear stream) is 2 miles down the 

 river from Balmoral. It is a most picturesque old castle with its 

 massive square tower harled yellow. The swinging river splashes 

 along quite close at hand, and the grounds are richly wooded with fir, 

 larch, and birch. There is a belief, I know not how it originated, 

 that when Burns wrote, in 1803, " The Birks of Aberfeldy," he used 

 considerable licence, since no birches existed at Aberfeldy in those 

 days, while Abergeldie was famous in this respect. There is nothing 

 in the wording of the song to guide one as to the precise locality. 



There are, I believe, about 15 good pools in Abergeldie, of which 

 Pal Mahalmoch and the Boat Pool of Clackenturn (what a name for 

 a mill !) are generally considered the best, as they fish at any 

 reasonable height of water. Birkhall comes next below on the 

 right bank and extends nearly to Ballater. 



Morven, Kinord, and Monaltrie Waters are on the left bank. The 

 first is a short stretch of about half a mile, which is said to fish well 

 in low water in early summer. Monaltrie extends to between 4 and 

 5 miles, and belongs to Invercauld. This water has been altered, and 

 not improved, by the action of floods, but it produced 92 fish in 1908. 

 On the right bank, from the termination of Birkhall at Muick 

 Burn, the Glemnuick Water comes in. Then comes Glen tana with 

 Cambus o' May opposite. The pools called Tassack and Waterside 

 on the Glentana Water are considered by some to be about the best 

 in the whole river. The whole of the Glentana Water fishes well 

 when the river is fairly high. The Cambus side is, however, much 

 the better when the water is low. From Tassack, or the needle rock 

 just below Tassack, where Cambus ends, Glentana fishes both banks 

 for between 4 and 5 miles. Dinnet Bridge divides this splendid 

 fishing into upper and lower beats, and two rods on each beat have 

 plenty of water. One rod has made a score of 25 fish in a day on 

 Glentana; other great days were 21 and 15 fish. The water is good 

 for over a thousand fish in a good year. In 1902, for instance, it is 

 reported to have produced 1097 fish a great total. The average 

 for Glentana is about 900, and the bulk of that total is made in 

 spring. 



