A Scots pine by the River Feshie - geograph

The River Feshie () is a major right bank tributary of the

River Spey The River Spey () is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom and the third longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is an important location for the traditions of salmon fishing an ...

in north-east

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It rises in the remote countryside of the Glenfeshie Forest, flowing initially eastwards before turning sharply to the northwest as a result of the

capture Capture may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Capture", a song by Simon Townshend * Capture (band), an Australian electronicore band previously known as Capture the Crown * ''Capture'' (TV series), a reality show Television episodes * "Chapter ...

of the waters of Geldie Burn. After gaining the waters of the River Eidart on its right bank and dropping down into Glen Feshie, it flows northwards through the wooded glen and is often braided in nature. It is joined by several burns which descend steeply from the Cairngorm plateau to the east and, on its left bank, by the Allt Chomhraig near Balachroick. The river passes beneath the B970 road at Feshiebridge and after a further 1.5 miles (2.5 km) it joins the Spey near the village of

Kincraig Kincraig () is a village located north of Kingussie and south of Aviemore in Highland, Scotland. Its original name was Boat of Inch, reflecting the ferry boat crossing of the Spey River that once operated here but the name was changed after a s ...

Etymology

The name of the river and the glen which it occupies derives from the

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

''faith'' meaning 'boggy place' and ''isidh'' signifying 'pasture land'.Ross, D. 2001 ''Scottish Place-names'', Birlinn, Edinburgh

Glen Feshie estate

The east side of Glen Feshie was primarily

Mackintosh The Mackintosh raincoat (abbreviated as mac) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made of rubberised textile, fabric. The Mackintosh is named after its Scotland, Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, although many writers adde ...

land. On the west side, the Forest of Feshie was a hunting ground of the

Dukes of Gordon The title Duke of Gordon has been created once in the Peerage of Scotland and again in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Dukedom, named after the Clan Gordon, was first created for the 4th Marquess of Huntly, who on 3 November 1684 was ...

. From 1752 it was leased to the Macphersons of

Invereshie Invereshie and Inshriach () is a national nature reserve on the western flank of the Cairngorms in the Highland council area of Scotland. The reserve covers habitats at a range of different altitudes, ranging from Caledonian Forest beside the R ...

sheilings A shieling () is a hut or collection of huts on a seasonal pasture high in the hills, once common in wild or sparsely populated places in Scotland. Usually rectangular with a doorway on the south side and few or no windows, they were often c ...

. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Glen Feshie Wood Company was active in extracting timber from Aeneas Mackintosh's land at Ruigh Aiteachain. In 1804, Mackintosh and George Macpherson Grant of Ballindalloch fell into dispute over damage to floodbanks caused by logs being floated down the river. In 1815,

Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, (18 June 1743 – 17 June 1827), styled Marquess of Huntly until 1752, was a Scottish peer who was described by Lord Kames as the "greatest subject in Britain". He was also known as the "Cock o' the North", ...

, sold his Glen Feshie land to George Macpherson Grant of

Ballindalloch Ballindalloch () is a small village on the River Spey in Scotland. It is known for its Scotch whisky, whisky distilleries and for Ballindalloch Castle. In Ballindalloch itself, there are two distilleries, Cragganmore distillery and Ballindalloc ...

.Taylor, David (2022), ''The People Are Not There: The transformation of Badenoch 1800 - 1863'', John Donald, Edinburgh, pp. 36, 38, 40, 63, 80 - 81 & 145 The

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and

Duchess of Bedford {{Notability, date=September 2022 Duchess of Bedford is a title given to the wife of the Duke of Bedford, an extant title in the peerage of England which was first created in 1414. Duchesses of Bedford

;1st creation (1414) *Anne of Burgundy ( ...

first leased the Invereshie shootings from George Macpherson Grant of

in 1818, beginning a lifelong sporting association with Glen Feshie. From 1829 Macpherson Grant began to impose limitations on sheep numbers on the upland grazings on which his farming tenants relied. In 1839, he converted his sheep range in Glen Feshie into a deer forest. In the late 1840s, the Duchess had Alexander Mackintosh of Mackintosh convert the Bedford shootings on the east side of Glen Feshie into a

deer forest The deer forest ( Gaelic: frìth) is a sporting estate which is kept and managed largely or solely for the purposes of maintaining a resident population of red deer for sporting ( deer stalking) purposes. It is an institution and phenomenon pecu ...

. In 2006, the Glen Feshie estate was bought by the Danish businessman

Anders Holch Povlsen Anders Holch Povlsen (born 4 November 1972) is a Danish billionaire, CEO and sole owner of the international retail clothing chain Bestseller (which includes Vero Moda and Jack & Jones), a company founded by his parents. He is the largest share ...

, who expanded it by buying the neighbouring 4,000 acre (1,600 ha) farm of Killiehuntly.

References

External links

* Feshie 1Feshie Badenoch and Strathspey {{Scotland-river-stub

Etymology

Glen Feshie estate

References

Further reading

External links