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The landscape surrounding the River Dee is one of extremes. It is bounded by some of the highest mountains in Britain, where the plateaus and tops can be benign one minute before being blasted by ferocious winds and blizzard conditions the next.
It plummets from these mountain slopes but then decelerates as the landscape softens and the gradient eases, finally culminating at Aberdeen.
With the possible exception of the River Spey, the River Dee may well travel through the most diverse, iconic and scenic landscape in Britain. It certainly has the highest source of any river in the British Isles, beginning at over 4000 feet above sea level on the colossal mountain summit of Braeraich.
It then travels for another 87 miles, tumbling down gorgeous waterfalls, through remnants of the great Caledonian Pine Forest, along by lochs, and through historic towns and villages such as Braemar, Crathie, Ballater and Banchory to reach the North Sea.
The landscape and weather have also been critical in determining the extraordinary array of wildlife that live both in and around the River Dee, a list that includes otter, water vole, golden eagle, osprey, dotterel, ptarmigan, pine marten, red deer, red squirrels, and the Scottish crossbill (the only bird unique to Britain).
The meaning behind the River Dee is a complex one. Its derivation from its Gaelic name Dé, is god whilst its Celtic origin is from Deva, meaning female divinity, a connotation also shared with Aberdeenshire’s other great river, The Don.
It was The Picts who were most successful in laying down roots in the region and, along with the Gaels, were the dominant race in the northeast and many of the subsequent hill and place names along the River Dee reflect both the Pictish and Gaelic languages. Aber translates from Pictish as ‘mouth of the river’ and so Aberdeen or Abergeldie have their roots in the Pictish language, whilst Gaelic can be seen in the likes of Ben Macdui, Clachnaben, Ballater and Banchory.
Tourism has certainly benefited the prosperity of the people and places along the River Dee, but nothing would have such a profound effect on the local economy than the discovery of oil, off the Aberdeenshire coast, in the early 1970’s.
However oil is not Aberdeen’s first big industry. Granite quarrying, which has been used to striking effect in many of Aberdeen’s buildings, has taken place for several centuries whilst both fishing and shipbuilding grew from the 15th century onwards. Aberdeen Harbour is regularly referred to as the oldest business in Britain.
Aberdeen is a beautiful city and provides a fitting journey end to the magnificent River Dee. Both the urban and coastal setting of Aberdeen sit in sharp contrast to the mountainous and rural scenery along much of the River Dee’s length, simply emphasising the incredible diversity of landscape it flows through.
Wanderings - the ramblings of Outdoor Fergie. 