River Spey: Photographer surprised at deep connection many hold with Scottish river
From people having lived beside it for over 50 years, to newcomers from as far as India, connection to the River Spey runs deep
An award-winning photographer said he has been left surprised by the level of connection many feel to a Scottish river and its banks.
Ed Smith, from Kingussie, is in the middle of a year-long trip documenting life on the River Spey.
Split into four sections, the 39-year-old completed a ten-day descent of the river by canoe in the summer and a two-week autumnal bike ride along its banks last month. He is capturing the landscape and interviewing people he encounters near the river along the way.
The next stage will see a winter canoe descent of the river in January, with the project ending with a final bike ride in the opposite direction, from sea to source, in April.
Through analogue photography, video and interviews, Mr Smith has, so far, engaged with different landscapes and a range of characters connected to the river. These people range from whisky distillery owners and hoteliers to conservationists, school pupils and local families.
The adventurer said a big surprise on the journey so far had been witnessing “how stretched the Spey felt”.
“I saw temporary pumps diverting water to reservoirs and learned more about the extent of water shortages along its path — something I had never been aware of before,” he said.
“Yet I was equally struck by how the Spey continues to sustain communities, as it has for centuries.”
But the intrepid photographer has found the level of connection to the river from those he has come across along the way the most eye-opening.
“What has surprised me most is the number of people — individuals, groups and businesses — who have reached out to share their stories and their deep connection to the Spey, some of them having lived beside it for over 50 years, others newcomers setting up home here from as far as India,” he said.
“There is no doubt that the River Spey upholds both an enchanting and resourceful draw, which reaches far beyond its banks. But there is also little doubt that this balance will have to be carefully nurtured to protect its future.”
The journey will cover around 300 miles travelling up and down the river.
The second-longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the UK, the River Spey rises in the Monadhliath Mountains to the west of Laggan in the Highland Council area.
The waterway flows 100 miles east and north-east into Moray, where it joins the sea at Spey Bay.
Mr Smith had made frequent trips to the Spey and Cairngorms with his family as a youngster, as well as with his high school in North Berwick.
He was just ten when he made his first full descent of the river from its source to its end point in the sea in Moray.
"I made my first full descent of the Spey with my dad David and some of his friends ... now the river is very much my home,” he said. “It's only a stone's throw away from my house and my gallery."
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