Spey Descent 2024
Join us for an open canoeing expedition as we descend the famous River Spey, paddling through Speyside in the scenic North East Highlands. This classic Scottish river trip runs through pine forests, heather-covered hills and Scotland’s most celebrated whisky region.
Starting our journey on a gentle section of the river, we’ll practise different strokes and techniques as we go. The canoeing becomes more challenging as we travel downstream through several fun and exciting rapids.
As you journey along the river you’ll enjoy the pine forests on the riverbanks, home to a diverse range of wildlife, including red squirrels, red deer and capercaillie. There’s always the chance of spotting ospreys, golden eagles and other large birds of prey overhead.
Adventurous days on the river will be balanced by tranquil nights in the campsites, where each evening we eat tasty meals and prepare you for the next day’s challenges.
This canoeing journey is suitable for people with some previous canoeing experience and a good level of fitness. Since we are paddling on moving river waters, including several more exciting rapids (up to Grade 2) competence in steering the canoe is an essential skill from the beginning. You can expect up to 7 hours of paddling a day plus breaks.
Whilst Equal Adventure will make all efforts to ensure you are included in a safe and meaningful way, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are appropriately fit and capable for the grade of the trip you wish to join, please work with us so that we can meet your needs. The weather in Scotland can be unpredictable at times which can make activities more challenging, so please bear this in mind when booking. If our guides at any point feel you cannot complete a scheduled activity, they may ask you not to join that day; this would be for your safety and the well-being of the group. If you are unsure about your ability, please contact Equal Adventure so we can work with you to find the right journey for you.
Your Equal Adventure Mentor will guide and coach you through your journey to help you develop your independence and safe efficient performance. As with all great adventure plans thinking ahead helps, so we would ask you to help us understand your needs prior to the journey so that you can make the most of your time in the wilderness.
On this trip, we wild camp beside the river each night. We provide tents and also carry a base camp tipi, which means that we can all gather together for dinner and a hot drink even if the weather is inclement. If you require a single tent we are happy to provide this, but otherwise, we do ask that those who are happy to share a tent with other travellers do so. This helps to keep our camp size small, giving us more options of where to pitch and reducing our environmental impact on these precious places.
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- Accommodation Type – Supported Wilderness Camping
- 5b Geographical – Spey Valley
- Nights Accommodation – 4
- Days Activity: 5
- Price From (£): 670.00
- Deposit (£): 250.00
- Min Group Size: 6
- Max Group Size: 8
- Guiding Ratio 1:4
Equal Adventure Charity has inclusion and sustainability at the heart of its values, mission and practice. Our team will work hard behind the scenes to help ensure that your venture with Equal Adventure is minimized in terms of its Carbon Footprint and is as low impact as possible. This includes being culturally and environmentally aware and practiced in our leave no trace approach and our positive relationships with both the environment and the communities you will travel through with us.
Day by Day Itinerary (dependent on weather and water levels).
Day 1 – Boat of Garten to Boat of Balliefurth
Your mentor will meet you at the railway station in Aviemore and transfer you to our put-in point a short distance away. We will spend some time familiarising ourselves with the moving water environment before setting off on our journey. We move north-east, passing the village of Boat of Garten and the Abernethy Forest. Looking back, there are superb views of the Cairngorms Plateau. Our first nights camp will be on the edge of the forest at Boat of Bailliefurth.
Day 2 – Boat of Balliefurth to Blacksboat
Following breakfast, we’ll paddle into the heart of malt whisky country. As we reach the edge of Grantown-on-Spey.We’ll pass under a couple of road bridges and there will be time to work on the skills that will be essential when negotiating the rapids that lie ahead in the second half of the journey. We’ll put these skills to use at the end of the day with a trip through the short but exciting rapid known as the ‘Washing Machine’ before we reach our next camp.
Day 3 – Blacksboat to Craigellachie
Our moving water skills are tested today as we meet unforgettable rapids such as the Station Pool of Knockando, and numerous shorter rapids. We’ll also pass by a few small villages (most of which have a whisky distillery) before finishing close to the village of Craigellachie near the mouth of the River Fiddich.
Day 4 – Craigellachie to Spey Bay
Today we canoe along the final stretch of the Spey, where the valley widens as we approach the sea. We will put our new skills to good use on this stretch where the Spey twists its way through rolling rural farmland. We pass many beautiful pools and small islands before passing under a road bridge at Fochabers, where the coastal plain emerges and we travel alongside gravel banks before reaching our journey’s end at Spey Bay.
On completion of our journey we will transfer back to Craigellachie to enjoy a final dinner along with a well earned whiskey Tasting Session.
Day 5 – Craigellachie – Return to Aviemore
We will enjoy a final breakfast on this our last day. Following breakfast we will pack our gear and thence transfer back to Aviemore, through the Spey Valley, for the end of the trip.
Note –
This trip is very water dependent and In such instances we will adjust our itinerary accordingly. Your Mentor’s decisions in this respect will be final.
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- 4 nights wild camping. (2 people per tent)
- All meals, from lunch on day of arrival through to lunch on day of departure.
- All transport, starting and finishing in Aviemore.
- The services of at least one experienced and knowledgeable canoe mentor/driver throughout your trip.
- All group equipment including tents, group safety equipment and cooking/eating equipment and utensils.
- Please note that sleeping bags are not included but are available for hire.
- All specialist open canoe equipment, including canoes and buoyancy aids
- Pre journey video group call with follow up.
Great food is essential to all our trips and expeditions are no different. While your mentor will co-ordinate the cooking and help out, everyone is asked to lend a hand as this ensures the best meals in the shortest possible time after what are often long days. We will carry plenty of food to cater a varied and satisfying menu throughout the trip, and some of these may even be prepared on an open fire. Dietary requirements can still be catered for but please ensure we know at the time of booking.
A full equipment list will be sent to you as part of your booking.
Arrival and Departure Information
You will be met by your Equal Adventure Mentor at Aviemore Railway Station at 11am on Day 1 of your trip. You will be returned to Aviemore for 2:00pm on the final day of the trip.
Prior to your journey the EA team will work with you to ensure that you are reasonably prepared for your venture. This will will include advice on pre and post journey booking and travel.
We guarantee that this journey will run as long as six people are booked. There are a maximim of eight places on this journey.
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- We guarantee this trip will run as soon as 6 people have booked
- Maximum of 8 places available per departure.
Please note: The itinerary may be subject to change at the discretion of the Equal Adventure Mentor with regard to weather conditions and other factors
