River Tay

Image courtesy of Stanley Howe, wikimedia commons

The River Tay is Scotland's longest river and the United Kingdom's seventh longest river and the largest river by water volume discharge, at one hundred cubic metres per second.The River Tay starts life one thousand, eight hundred and thirty seven feet up on the slopes of Ben Lui, the highest peak in the group of the four monroes of Ben Lawers, situated in Scotland's southern highlands.

The river makes it's way down the mountain through Loch Dochart and Loch Lubhair, where it is known by several different names, before draining into Loch Tay situated at the bottom of the northern slopes of this mountain group.

Loch Tay is a freshwater lake fourteen miles long by one and a half miles wide and four hundred and ninety feet deep, which covers a surface area of twenty six square miles. Loch Tay goes on to drain into the River Tay at the site of the village of Kenmore , pictured above, which is famous for being the site of Scotland's oldest inn the Kenmore Hotel which was built in 1572, and flows eastwards for one hundred and twenty miles into the United Kingdom's largest river drainage basin, the twenty five mile long, two thousand square mile basin, the Firth of Tay, which then goes on to drain into the North Sea.

The River Tay feeds four Scottish lochs along it's route, the Lochs Rannoch, Ericht, Earn and Ba and has hundreds of tributaries including the larger Rivers Almond, Earn, Isla, Lyon and Tummel.

The river passes through the southern highland towns of Dunkeld, Perth and Aberfeldy.

The river is spanned by only nine bridges along it's route, the most notable of these being the two bridges that cross the river on the Tay Estuary.

The two point four mile long Tay Rail Bridge, between Dundee and Wormit, opened in 1878 and was the longest bridge in the world at that time. The bridge was also the site, one year after it's completion, of the Tay Bridge Disaster, when the bridge collapsed and plunged into the estuary below as a train was crossing it, killing seventy people.

The other notable bridge is the one point seven mile long Tay Road Bridge that links Dundee with Newport - on - Tay, which opened in 1966.

The oldest bridge to span the River Tay is the stone built, multi - arched Smeaton's Bridge at Perth, which was completed in 1766.Perth is also the site of two other bridges that span the river, the Perth Railway Bridge, completed in 1863 and the Queen's Bridge completed in 1960.

The River Tay runs through picturesque countryside of highland glens and lowland pastures which are popular with hikers, bikers and nature lovers due to it's miles of rugged coastline. The area also hosts several golf links.

The river itself is considered to be the United Kingdom's best fishing river, having as it does unlimited, quality supplies of salmon, trout, lamprey and freshwater mussels.Ten thousand hectares of the river has been designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to it's Atlantic Salmon population.

Popular areas along it's route include Scotland's fourth largest city, Dundee and the historical town and former royal borough of Perth, the Firth of Tay's thirty two acre, Mugdrum Island, which is now a nature reserve for wild fowl and imfamous for being the birthplace of a two headed kitten born in the 19th century, a myriad of small Scottish towns and villages offering historic places of interest such as castles, churches, abbeys, historic monuments, royal residences and local museums. Other attractions include pubs and cafes offering local delicacies and beverages, local craftwear shops, golf courses, formal gardens and whisky distilleries.

The area that surrounds the River Tay is collectively known as Tayside and covers the counties of Perth and Kinross, Angus, Fife and the City of Dundee.

The River Tay Estuary is an area of reed beds and inter tidal sand and mud flats, which encompasses the towns of Invergowrie, Balmerino, Newport on Tay, Tayport and Wormit and the City of Dundee.

This vast estuary, which measures three miles wide at it's widest point, has been designated a special site of scientific interest (SSSI), a local nature reserve (LNR), a special protected area (SPA), a special area of conservation (SAC) and a Ramsar site.

The firth is also home to two islands, the forty six square hectare, Moncrieff Island and the thirty two square hectare, Mugdrum Island, which is also a nature reserve.

The estuary, also known as the Firth of Tay, is spanned by the iconic Tay Rail Bridge, between Dundee and Wormit and the Tay Road Bridge, between Dundee and Newport on Tay.

There are four lighthouses located on the Tay Estuary, The Tayport West and Tayport East Lighthouses, both situated at the town's harbour, the unusual Pile Lighthouse, also situated at Tayport and the now unused, Budden Ness Lighthouse situated on the outer Tay Estuary.

SOME RIVER TAY WEBSITES

Visit - www.tayrivertrips.org

Angling - www.tayfishingscotland.co.uk

Dundee - www.dundee.com

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