The River Dee ( gd, Uisge Dhè) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area incl ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. It rises in the

Cairngorms The Cairngorms ( gd, Am Monadh Ruadh) are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park (the Cairngorms National Park) on 1 ...

and flows through southern Aberdeenshire to reach the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

. The area it passes through is known as Deeside, or Royal Deeside in the region between

Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' pr ...

and

Banchory Banchory (, sco, Banchry, gd, Beannchar) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short cist b ...

because

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

came for a visit there in 1848 and greatly enjoyed herself. She and her husband, Prince Albert, built

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were boug ...

there which replaced an older castle. Deeside is a popular area for tourists, due to the combination of scenic beauty and historic and royal associations. It is part of the

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park ( gd, Pàirc Nàiseanta a' Mhonaidh Ruaidh) is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Tros ...

, and the Deeside and Lochnagar National Scenic Area. The Dee is popular with anglers and is one of the most famous

salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

fishing rivers in the world. The

New Statistical Account of Scotland The ''Statistical Accounts of Scotland'' are a series of documentary publications, related in subject matter though published at different times, covering life in Scotland in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The ''Old (or First) Statistical Ac ...

attributed the name Dee as having been used as early as the second century AD in the work of the

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

Claudius

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of import ...

, as ''Δηοῦα'' (=Deva), meaning 'goddess'. This indicated the river had divine status in the beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of the area. There are several other rivers with the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first name and surname. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after fou ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, and they are believed to have similar derivations, as may the Dee's near neighbour to the north which is the River Don.

Geography

Upper reaches

The River Dee rises from a spring on the

Braeriach Braeriach or Brae Riach ( gd, Am Bràigh Riabhach, 'the brindled upland') is the third-highest mountain in Scotland and all of the British Isles, after Ben Nevis and Ben Macdui, rising above sea level. It is in the Scottish Highlands and is ...

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

in the

Cairngorm Mountains The Cairngorms ( gd, Am Monadh Ruadh) are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park (the Cairngorms National Park) on 1 S ...

at a height of at about 1,220 m, the highest source of any major river in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

. Emerging in a number of pools called the Wells of Dee the young Dee then flows across the plateau to the cliff edge from where the Falls of Dee plunge into An Garbh Choire ("burn of the rough corrie").

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was ...

Landranger 1:50000, Sheet 43 The river is then joined by a tributary coming from the Pools of Dee in the

Lairig Ghru The Lairig Ghru ( gd, Làirig Dhrù) is one of the mountain passes through the Cairngorms of Scotland. The route and mountain pass partially lies on the Mar Lodge Estate. Like many traditional routes, the ends of the route through the Lairig Gh ...

, and flows south down the Lairig Ghru between

Ben Macdui Ben Macdui ( gd, Beinn MacDuibh, meaning "MacDuff's mountain") is the second-highest mountain in Scotland and all of the British Isles, after Ben Nevis, and the highest of the Cairngorm Mountains. The summit is above sea level and it is class ...

and

Cairn Toul Cairn Toul ( gd, Càrn an t-Sabhail, 'hill of the barn') is the fourth-highest mountain in Scotland and all of the British Isles, after Ben Nevis, Ben Macdui and Braeriach. The summit is 1,291 metres (4,236 feet) above sea level. It is in the w ...

, tumbling over falls in the Chest of Dee on its way to White Bridge and the confluence with the Geldie Burn, at which point it turns east.

Linn of Dee

At Linn of Dee the river passes east through a 300-metre natural rock

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to c ...

, a spot much favoured by

during her stays at Balmoral. The queen opened the bridge which spans the Dee at this point in 1857. Between Linn of Dee and

the Lui Water (formed by the Luibeg and Derry burns) and the Quoich Water join the growing River Dee. The River Clunie enters the Dee at Braemar. Evidence of human activity stretching as far back as c8,200 BC has been found at a complex of sites stretching along the banks of the Dee.

Strathdee

Through Deeside the river passes

Ballater Ballater (, gd, Bealadair) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, immediately east of the Cairngorm Mountains. Situated at an elevation of , Ballater is a centre for hikers and known for its spring water, once said to c ...

Dinnet Dinnet (Scottish Gaelic, ''Dùnaidh'') is a village in the Marr area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Approximately equidistant from Deeside towns Aboyne and Ballater and situated on the main A93 road in the valley of the River Dee, it is said to ...

Aboyne Aboyne ( sco, Abyne, gd, Abèidh) is a village on the edge of the Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, approximately west of Aberdeen. It has a swimming pool at Aboyne Academy, all-weather tennis courts, a bowling green an ...

, and

reaching the sea at

. Near

two rivers are tributaries: the River Gairn flowing from the north and the River Muick which flows out of

Loch Muick Loch Muick (; Gaelic: Uisge Muice ()) is an upland, freshwater loch lying approximately south of Braemar, Scotland at the head of Glen Muick and within the boundary of the Balmoral estate. Geography Loch Muick trends in a southwest and north ...

, from the south. The river is within the

until it reaches Dinnett. The

Water of Tanar Water of Tanar is a river of the Grampian Mountains of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It flows through Glen Tanar to join the River Dee at the mouth of the glen near the Tower of Ess. It is crossed in the Glen Tanar Estate by a number of listed brid ...

flows through Glen Tanar before joining at

. The Water of Feugh has its confluence with the Dee near the Falls of Feugh at Banchory and

Coy Burn Coy Burn is a stream that rises in the hills north of Banchory in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Coy Burn discharges to the River Dee at Milton of Crathes. History The Coy Burn along with certain other natural waters of Scotland has been under stu ...

enters at Milton of Crathes.

Landranger 1:50000, Sheet 44 The tidal limit is just above

Bridge of Dee The Bridge of Dee or Brig o Dee ( gd, Drochaid Dhè) is a road bridge over the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527,Richards, J.M., ''The National Trust Book of Bridges ...

which was built about 1720; it carries the main A90 trunk road from Aberdeen to the south. Before reaching the North Sea, the river passes through

Aberdeen Harbour Aberdeen Harbour, rebranded as the Port of Aberdeen in 2022, is a sea port located in the city of Aberdeen on the east coast of Scotland. The port was first established in 1136 and has been continually redeveloped over the centuries to provide ...

, the principal marine centre for the energy industry in Europe, servicing the offshore oil and gas industry. An artificial channel was constructed in 1872 to straighten the river's flow into the sea.

Footdee Footdee (Scots: Fittie) is an area of Aberdeen, Scotland known locally by its Scots language name of Fittie. It is an old fishing village at the east end of Aberdeen Harbour. The name is actually folk etymology. Far from being "Foot of the Dee ...

("Fittie") is an old fishing village at the east end of Aberdeen Harbour.

Nature and conservation

The Dee is important for nature conservation and the area has many designated sites. The upper catchment down to

Inverey Inverey (; gd, Inbhir Eidh) is a hamlet (place), hamlet on Mar Lodge Estate, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Description The hamlet straddles the Ey Burn close to its confluence with the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, River Dee. Inverey comprises two ...

is within the

Mar Lodge Estate Mar Lodge Estate is a highland estate in western Aberdeenshire, Scotland, which has been owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) since 1995. Its principal building, Mar Lodge, is about west of the village of Braemar. The estat ...

, which is owned by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

and has been classified as a national nature reserve since May 2017. The

which was established in 2003 covers the whole of the catchment of the Dee, including the tributaries, down to as far as Dinnet. As well as being included as part of the

, the Deeside area along with the mountains surrounding

Lochnagar Lochnagar or is a mountain in the Mounth, in the Grampians of Scotland. It is about south of the River Dee near Balmoral. It is a popular hill with hillwalkers, and is a noted venue for summer and winter climbing. Names The English name ...

as far south as the head of

Glen Doll Glen Doll, also sometimes spelt Glendoll, lies within the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, at the top of Glen Clova, in an area of steep hills, corries and Munros. It includes the Corrie Fee National Nature Reserve, which has many endangered ...

is classified as the ''Deeside and Lochnagar National Scenic Area''. It is one of 40 areas in Scotland designated as a scenic area. The ''Deeside and Lochnagar National Scenic Area'' covers 40,000 ha, extending from the Geldie down to

. The entire length of the Dee is defined as a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

(SAC) due to its importance to

, otters and

freshwater pearl mussel The freshwater pearl mussel (''Margaritifera margaritifera'') is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Margaritiferidae. Although the name "freshwater pearl mussel" is often used for this specie ...

s. Other SACs within the Deeside area include Glen Tanar, the Muir of Dinnet, Ballochbuie, and the Morrone Birkwood. The southern side of Deeside is classified as a

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

, due to the area's importance to

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds ...

s. Much of the semi-natural Caledonian pine forest in Scotland is within the Dee catchment. The area contains nationally rare examples of pine woods, birch woods and heather moors with associated wildlife. On the valley floor there are deciduous

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

and mixed broadleaved woods as well as meadow grasslands. The Dee is a popular

river and has a succession of varied pools which are intersected by sharp

rapid Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade ...

s. In 1995 it was estimated that salmon fishing on the river contributed between £5 and £6 million a year to the Grampian Region economy. In 2020 it was estimated that salmon fishing contributed £15 million a year to the local economy and the River Dee reporting 10% of Scottish salmon catches. The River Dee operates a

catch and release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture, often a fast measurement and weighing of the fish is performed, followed by posed photography as proof of the catch, and then the fish are unhooked and returne ...

practise and all salmon which are caught must be released back to the river.

Transport on Deeside

The

A93 road The A93 is a major road in Scotland and the highest public road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from Perth through Blairgowrie and Rattray, then through the Grampian Mountains by way of Glenshee, the Cairnwell Pass and Glen Clunie to Brae ...

runs west along the north bank of the river from Aberdeen to Braemar before it turns south, leaving Deeside, to climb to the

Glenshee Ski Centre Glenshee Ski Centre is an alpine snowsports area in the Scottish Highlands. It is located above the Cairnwell Pass at the head of Glen Shee on either side of the A93 road between Blairgowrie and Braemar. Glenshee is Britain's largest alpine sno ...

Cairnwell Pass The Cairnwell Pass ( gd, Càrn a' Bhailg) is a mountain pass on the A93 road between Glen Shee, Perthshire, and Braemar, Aberdeenshire, in the Scottish Highlands. The border between the two counties crosses the summit of the pass. With a summit a ...

and then onwards to

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

. Just west of Ballater the

A939 The A939 'Lecht Road' connects the A96 at Nairn on the Moray Coast with the A95 Grantown on Spey, then it continues to the A93 at Ballater by way of the Grampian Mountains, passing Tomintoul and the Lecht Ski Centre. This road passes over f ...

Lecht Road leaves the A93 to take a tortuous climb towards the

Lecht Ski Centre The Lecht Ski Centre is an alpine ski area in the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands. The ski slopes are set around the mountains Beinn a' Chruinnich, 2,552 ft (778 m) and Meikle Corr Riabhach, 2556 ft (779 m). The Lecht is the small ...

then on to

Tomintoul Tomintoul (; from gd, Tom an t-Sabhail, meaning "Hillock of the Barn") is a village in the Moray council area of Scotland in the historic county of Banffshire. Within Cairngorms National Park, the village lies close to the banks of the Rive ...

and eventually

Nairn Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the t ...

. Beyond Braemar a narrow road continues along the south side of the Dee as far as Linn of Dee, at which point it doubles back to terminate at Linn of Quioch on the north bank of the Dee. There are no paved roads into the Cairngorms beyond Linn of Dee, although two walking routes, the

and the

Lairig an Laoigh The Lairig an Laoigh ( ; gd, Làirig Laoigh) is a mountain pass through the Highlands of Scotland. In speech and sometimes in writing the name is reduced to "Lairig Laoigh". It is of glacial origin, dissecting the Cairngorm plateau, and it ru ...

, continue via passes in the mountains to reach Speyside. Until 1966 the

Deeside Railway The Deeside Railway was a passenger and goods railway between Aberdeen and Ballater in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Opening in 1853 to Banchory, an extension reached Aboyne in 1859. A separate company, the Aboyne & Braemar Railway, built an extens ...

ran from Aberdeen to Ballater, operated by the

Great North of Scotland Railway The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating in the north-east of the country. Formed in 1845, it carried its first passengers the fr ...

. The line opened from Aberdeen to

in 1853, was extended to

in 1859, and a further extension to Ballater was opened in 1866. The line was not extended beyond Ballater to Braemar as this would require it to run close to Balmoral, leading to objections from Queen Victoria. The Royal Family used Ballater Station when visiting Balmoral. After the line closed, the station was converted into a rail museum. It was destroyed by fire in 2015 and has since been restored, now providing a tourist information centre, restaurant, tearoom and public library. A very short section of the line near Milton of Crathes has been restored as a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

, named the

Royal Deeside Railway The Royal Deeside Railway is a Scottish heritage railway located at Milton of Crathes railway station on a part of the original Deeside Railway. Original Railway Originally constructed between 1853 and 1866, the Deeside Railway ran between ...

Royal Deeside

Since the reign of

the British Royal Family have spent their summers at

. Each year they attend the Braemar Highland Gathering and other local events.

Birkhall Birkhall (from the Scots ''Birk Hauch'': "Birch River-meadow") is a estate on Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, owned by King Charles III. It is located alongside the River Muick to the south-west of Ballater. History The property was ...

which was previously owned by

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was th ...

, is now a favourite retreat of

King Charles King Charles may refer to: Kings A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, Sp ...

. Due to these royal connections, the area around Braemar and Ballater is sometimes referred to "Royal Deeside", and this usage has been encouraged by the tourist trade.

Gallery

File:Wells of Dee.jpg, Wells of Dee on

. File:Cairn Toul and Ben Macdui.jpg,

. File:3rd Aug 2012- Abdn Harbour 2.JPG, Aberdeen Harbour, at the estuary of the River Dee. File:River Dee near Braemar, Aberdeenshire.jpg, The River Clunie near Braemar. File:River Dee at Peterculter, facing East.jpg, The River Dee at Peterculter, facing downstream. File:BalmoralCastle1900.jpg, Balmoral Castle in Royal Deeside (

photochrom Photochrom, Fotochrom, Photochrome or the Aäc process is a process for producing colorized images from a single black-and-white photographic negative via the direct photographic transfer of the negative onto lithographic printing plates. The pr ...

from about 1900). File:The River Dee looking ESE - geograph.org.uk - 6899.jpg, The River Dee File:River Dee at Banchory.jpg, The Dee at Banchory File:Dee River (Scotland) Route.png, The Dee on a map of Scotland File:River Dee. - geograph.org.uk - 82939.jpg, The Dee in winter

References

External links

River Dee Trust & Dee District Salmon Fishery BoardBanchory.org
— Banchory & District Initiatives Ltd website {{authority control National scenic areas of Scotland Ramsar sites in Scotland Dee Places and place names on Mar Lodge Estate Dee