THE DON 121 



At times old river channels are passed where bends and loops of the 

 river have been cut off, where now there are deep stagnant pools, 

 and muddy marshes choked with iris and horsetails. Within a few 

 miles of the mouth the banks again become steeper, and the river 

 passes through woods of beech and plane trees, while rocks frequently 

 show up in the river bed. Before the old Bridge of Balgownie is 

 reached, near old Aberdeen, the river becomes much contracted, deep 

 and still. Emerging from the old bridge it flows freely in an open 

 stony channel through the tidal Bridge of Don, and, breaking through 

 great banks of sand, enters the sea. 



The estuary of the Don, as prescribed by the Salmon Act of 1868, 

 is a portion of a circle of 400 yards radius drawn from the centre of 

 the river. Since the estuary of the Dee is arranged in precisely the 

 same way, it follows that fixed engines may be set pretty close to 

 the river mouth and between the Don and the Dee. A constric- 

 tion of sand occurs where the river joins the beach line, and beyond 

 this, when the tide is out, the river flows directly across the sandy 

 beach to the sea. A barrier of posts and stones has been erected at 

 some early date, along the south side of this channel, which appears 

 to have preserved the course of the river mouth. What the age of 

 this barrier is I have been unable to ascertain ; but the present 

 straight course of the mouth seems to have persisted for at least a 

 hundred years. Above the Bridge of Don and below the old Brig 

 o' Balgownie, the concentration of the water-flow is secured by stone 

 barriers, that on the right bank being shaped like the letter L stand- 

 ing out from the river bank, the horizontal part of the letter being 

 made to point up stream. The arrangement is peculiar, but appar- 

 ently most efficient. A large water cushion must be formed against 

 the shaft of the letter, so to speak, thus protecting the whole struc- 

 ture during floods. 



The Brig o' Balgownie, with its high and pointed arch, is a 

 venerable and interesting structure. The narrow roadway takes a 

 curious angle as it crosses the bridge, and the paving and parapet 

 savour of the middle ages. Large rings are fastened to the sides of 

 the masonry for the purpose apparently of closing the passage. A 

 bevy of plumed knights disputing the crossing, with lances in rest, 

 would be quite in keeping. It dates from about 1320, and was built, 

 it is believed, either by Bishop Cheyne or by Eobert the Bruce. 



" Brig o' Balgownie, though wight be your wa', 

 Wi' a wife's ae son, and a meer's ae foal, 

 Doun ye shall fa'." 



