THE BEAULY DISTRICT 187 



Major the Hon. Hugh Fraser tells me he has seen a fall 10 feet 

 high pouring down through the narrow rocky aperture into the 

 Mare's Pool below. The Mare's Pool is the highest of the Beaufort 

 Castle water, and usually holds a lot of fish. A long flight of steps 

 lead down to it from the top of the cliff, and the lower portion is 

 fished from a platform which projects across a side gully. It gets 

 its name, Fraser the ghillie tells me, from the fact that a horse fair 

 used to be held in the field at the top of the cliff on the Kilmorack 

 Church side, and that on one occasion a mare fell over into the pool 

 below. 



The tail of the Mare's Pool is no distance from the foot of the 

 gorge, where a fine stream which cannot be reached from either 

 side spreads out above the Lower Kilmorack Falls. The barrier 

 of rock here is divided by many streams, and a boat is necessary to 

 cross from one part to another, and to land upon an island from 

 which two streams can be fished. From the remains of old but 

 substantial posts which are noticeable at the sills of several of the 

 runs, it appears that these falls were at one time used as a natural 

 cruive dyke. Two passes exist, one in the rock of the central 

 stream, where the fall has a good slope, though the actual height 

 must be 6 or 7 feet, the other at the back of the island in the form 

 of a wooden shoot as at the upper fall. I understand that the 

 majority of fish go up the wooden shoot, but, again, it would not be 

 difficult to make the ascent easier. 



The barrier of rock which causes these lower falls is made use of 

 as a natural weir to supply water on each bank, on the left to a 

 small meal mill, from which the water is immediately returned to 

 the river ; on the right to a saw-mill by means of a lade of some 

 length. This lade has also been made to serve a small hatchery 

 which Lord Lovat erected some years ago, capable of dealing with 

 about 300,000 ova. I understand that the use of this hatchery is 

 now to be discontinued. 



The river below the lower fall soon becomes rather still and broad, 

 with a smooth bottom. This section fishes well when the river is 

 high, but under ordinary conditions is not of much use. That the 

 current must be heavy at times is sufficiently shown by the torn 

 state of the left bank where the river sweeps to the right. The 

 high wooded banks of the Beaufort Castle policies again turn the 

 river northwards, a wide and flat grass land being formed on the 

 left side. The stillness of this bend is accentuated by the cruive 

 dyke which is presently reached. 



