The Muckle Spate was a great flood in August 1829,which devastated much of Strathspey,in the north east of Scotland. Muckle is a Scots word for 'much' or 'great'.[2]
It began raining on the evening of 2 August 1829,and continued into the next day when a thunderstorm broke over the Cairngorms. To the south,the River Dee rose rapidly above its normal level - 15ft (4.6 m) in places (27ft at Banchory).[3] The Rivers Nairn,Findhorn,Lossie and Spey were affected,to the north.[4]
As well as flooding,many bridges were washed away,including those over the Linn of Dee and Linn of Quoich. The original Mar Lodge was affected. Carrbridge's most famous landmark,the old bridge,built in 1717,[5] from which the village is named,was severely damaged and left in the condition we see today. Homes were lost in Kingston,Moray,a small village on the Moray Firth coast,at the mouth of the River Spey. Five Findhorn fishing boats rescued residents trapped by the floods on the plain of Forres.[6] Across the north-east between six and eight individuals lost their lives,22 bridges and 60 houses were destroyed and 600 families were made homeless.[7][1]
The Muckle Spate is remembered in a poem of the same name by David Grant,written circa 1851,describing the effect on the parish of Strachan.[8]
River Findhorn
The spate was a natural disaster unparalleled in the historic record of the north-east of Scotland described as one of "the most severe catastrophic floods in modern UK history".[1] Based on the eyewitness accounts recorded by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder it has been possible to estimate peak flows down the main river of up to 1,484 m3/sec and 451 m3/sec on its tributary the Divie.[1] It is at Randolph's Leap that the Findhorn river is at its most spectacular in spate. Here there are two markers indicating the height the river reached in 1829 and it is said that the butler at nearby Relugas caught a salmon50 feet (15m) above the normal river level in his umbrella.[9]
McKean, Charles (1987), The District of Moray: An Illustrated Architectural Guide, Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, ISBN978-0-7073-0528-8
McEwen, J Lindsey; Werritty, Alan (January 2007). "The Muckle Spate of 1829: the physical and societal impact of a catastrophic flood on the River Findhorn, Scottish Highlands". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 32 (1): 66–89. doi:10.1111/j.1475-5661.2007.00232.x.
Forres is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Inverness and 12 miles (19 km) west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There are many geographical and historical attractions nearby such as the River Findhorn, and there are also classical, historical artifacts and monuments within the town itself, such as Forres Tolbooth and Nelson's Tower. Brodie Castle, the home of the Brodie Clan, lies to the west of the town, close to the A96.
Moray; or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It was a local government county, with Elgin the county town, until 1975. The county was officially called Elginshire, sharing the name of the Elginshire parliamentary constituency, so named since 1708.
The River Spey is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At 98 mi (158 km) it is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the third longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishing and whisky production.
Aberlour is a village in Moray, Scotland, 12 miles (20 km) south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. The Lour burn is a tributary of the River Spey, and it and the surrounding parish are both named Aberlour, but the name is more commonly used in reference to the village which straddles the stream and flanks the Spey – although the full name of the village is Charlestown of Aberlour.
Findhorn is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 miles (9 km) by road from Forres.
Moray is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Carrbridge is a village in Badenoch and Strathspey in the Scottish Highlands. It lies off the A9 on the A938, west of Skye of Curr and southeast of Tomatin, near Bogroy. It has the oldest stone bridge in the Highlands and the nearby ancient pine forest contains the Landmark Forest Adventure Park.
Events from the year 1829 in the United Kingdom.
The River Findhorn is one of the longest rivers in Scotland. Located in the north east, it flows into the Moray Firth on the north coast. It has one of the largest non-firth estuaries in Scotland.
Kingston on Spey is a small coastal village in Moray, Scotland. It is situated immediately north of Garmouth at the western side of the mouth of the River Spey on the coast of the Moray Firth. Kingston was founded in 1784 and was named after Kingston upon Hull, in East Yorkshire.
Mar Lodge Estate is the largest remnant of the ancient Earldom of Mar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland and is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.
A network of military roads, sometimes called General Wade's Military Roads, was constructed in the Scottish Highlands during the middle part of the 18th century as part of an attempt by the British Government to bring order to a part of the country which had risen up in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
The Moray Coastal Trail is a long-distance path in North-East Scotland that runs along the coastline of the Moray council area. The route, which is 72 km (45 mi) long, runs between Forres and Cullen. It is designated as one of Scotland's Great Trails by NatureScot, and connects with two further Great Trails: the Speyside Way at Spey Bay, and the Dava Way at Forres. The Moray Coast Trail can be combined with sections of these two routes to form a 153 km (95 mi) circular route known as the Moray Way, and also forms part of the North Sea Trail. The trail is primarily intended for walkers, but many sections are also suitable for cycling and horseriding. An alternative route for cycling, the Moray Coast Ride, shares some sections of path with the Moray Coast Trail, and forms part of the National Cycle Network's Route 1. About 23,000 people use the path every year, of whom about 1,000 complete the entire route.
Events from the year 1829 in Scotland.
The Tugnet Ice House is a Category A listed building in Spey Bay, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Spey. It was built as an industrial ice house used to store ice for packing salmon from the Spey fishery before it was sent to market. The current structure dates from 1830, having been built to replace an older structure damaged by flooding. It is the largest surviving ice house in the United Kingdom. The building currently forms part of the Scottish Dolphin Centre.
The Carron Bridge is a bridge at Carron in Moray, Scotland, which crosses the River Spey between the parishes of Knockando and Aberlour. It was built for the Strathspey Railway in 1863, to a design by Alexander Gibb, an engineer for the Great North of Scotland Railway, and fabricated by the iron founders William McKinnon and Co. It originally carried both the railway and a roadway, but the railway has now closed.
The Little Cross is a monument in Elgin, Scotland, located at end of the city's High Street. It marks the boundary between secular Elgin and the religious Chanonry, a part of the town that had historically been given over to ecclesiastical governance under the Bishops of Moray. The Elgin Museum, one of the oldest in the country, is directly adjacent to the structure. The name 'Little Cross' differentiates it from Elgin's 'Muckle Cross', the name of the town's market cross.
Carrbridge Packhorse Bridge, also known as Coffin Bridge, is a bridge in the village of Carrbridge in the Highlands of Scotland. The bridge was built in 1717 to allow funeral processions to reach Duthil Church by crossing the River Dulnain. The parapets were washed away in the 19th century. In 1971 the bridge became a Category B listed building. It is now a popular tourist attraction.
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