Glen Feshie
Geological Conservation Review site | GCR #2217 | Geomorphology | Fluvial Geomorphology of Scotland
Scotland's geosites are chosen because of their local, national or international importance. Take only photos, leave only footprints: avoid causing any damage to this site. You can walk almost anywhere in Scotland without the need to ask permission or keep to paths, but you have a responsibility to care for your own safety, to respect people's privacy and peace of mind and to cause no damage.
This site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly damage the protected natural features of a SSSI, and this includes unauthorised sample collection.
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Summary
Glen Feshie is a site of highest importance for fluvial geomorphology and has some of the most active reaches of channel presently found in Britain. The catchment rivers are vulnerable to sudden increases in discharge which dramatically alter the position of the river channels during floods.
Four areas within Glen Feshie together provide a key assemblage of features associated with the River Feshie, a highly active gravel-bedded river.
The upper reaches in Glen Feshie have a braided channel pattern where the highest rates of bank erosion and planform changes in Scotland have been recorded. It is characterised by a readily available source of sediment, a wide area of potentially active floodplain and a system of channels which are periodically occupied, widened and abandoned.
The valley widens north and south of Auchlean and provides an excellent example of a well-preserved post-glacial river terrace system.
Between Ballintean and Feshiebridge the braided channels of the lower River Feshie have some of the highest recorded rates of channel adjustment in Scotland. This area is an important source of sediment, with periodic flushing of material through the Feshie gorge and deposition within the Feshie confluence fan.
The confluence of the River Feshie with the River Spey is a good example of a large, low-angled late-glacial and post-glacial alluvial fan which is currently active. The large volume of sediment moved by the River Feshie causes a change in base level in the upper Spey valley which alters the flow regime of the River Spey.
Site information
Access
The upper section of the glen is best accessed from the private road to the west of Glen Feshie as far as Ruigh Fionntaig (NN 8435 9175). The public car park near Auchlean (NN 8503 9851), gives access to the footpath on the east of the glen. Allt Fhearnagan is crossed at a ford, so would not be accessible at times of high river discharge. The middle reaches of the River Feshie are best seen from the footpath from Ballintean north along the river bank towards Feshiebridge The gorge section can be viewed from Feshiebridge and from a Forestry Commission car park at NH 8492 0464. Views of the confluence of the Feshie with the River Spey can be seen during the winter months from the Speyside Way between Kincraig and Speybank.
Safety notes
Access to the upper glen is by way of footpaths and tracks using fords and bridges across the tributaries to the River Feshie, not all of which are passable safely at times of high river discharge.
Related geosites
Alison Tymon
July 1, 2023
This is a recent aerial photo of one of the confluences of the Feshie and the Spey, taken from above Speybank Croft by the owners. They are familiar with the unpredictable discharge of the River Feshie and the tendency for its channels to change position and to erode the banks of the River Spey when discharges are exceptional. Within the last fifty years, they have known the confluence move up to several kilometres upstream and downstream of its present position, sometimes causing serious erosion on the banks of the Spey. They are also aware of attempts to control the direction of flow of the channels, even though engineering works are sometimes ineffective.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 19, 2023
From a footpath near Kincraig, the River Spey can be seen at the base of the wooded cliff. Beyond lies the late-glacial alluvial fan built out by the River Feshie, now stabilised in places by woodland. The Feshie channels on the alluvial fan change position frequently during flood times and the history of this feature is best traced on old maps and using aerial photography.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 20, 2023
The Feshie river is flowing over an extensive low-angle alluvial fan with braided channels. The near bank is being undercut because of the high water velocity after heavy rain.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 20, 2023
Within the Feshiebridge gorge is a river gauging station. A short distance farther downstream the valley widens so that the river begins to braid. In this photo, the main Feshie channel has overflowed through a debris fan of coarse shingle after a night of heavy rain.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 20, 2023
View of the gorge section of the River Feshie from the bridge at Feshiebridge looking downstream, after twelve hours of heavy rain. The bedrock is quartzite of the Dalradian Loch Laggan Psammite Formation.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 21, 2023
The River Feshie near to Ballintean, seen here after heavy rainfall on the night of 19th Sept, shows the typical channel switching which occurs at high discharge. Water is flowing from the main channel in the distance at several points across a shingle bank and undercutting the near bank.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 19, 2023
Banks of sparsely vegetated shingle show that the river channels in this reach are very prone to switching position when there is high discharge, as shown in this view where the channel at the far bank is overflowing down-gradient across a narrow section of the eyot into the nearer channel.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 19, 2023
The River Feshie is accessible by footpath from Ballintean and shows excellent examples of channel-switching in a braided river. Two present channels can be seen in this view, with an abandoned channel in the foreground. Banks of shingle and sand show where the river channels have changed position in recent times. At the upstream end of the eyot, large boulders have been placed in an attempt to maintain its stability.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 19, 2023
This view shows several channels of the River Feshie about 1km south of Ballintean. The shingle eyots which divide the main channels have not been stabilised by vegetation and are probably covered by water during high discharge events.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 20, 2023
A view from close to the Auchlean car park shows the present river in the distance flowing in a single channel. The meadow near the present river is the lowest terrace of the three post-glacial river terraces in the valley. The fenced lane runs along the highest terrace which slopes steeply down to the middle terrace, dated at 3,600 BP.
Alison Tymon
June 7, 2024
The footbridge over the gorge exposes the Loch Laggan Psammite Formation (Neoproterozoic) of grey metamorphosed sandstone. This is one of the few places where the river, which has a highly variable discharge, has sufficiently stable foundations for a bridge to be built.
Alison Tymon
June 7, 2024
The view from the footbridge over the gorge looking upstream shows the eroded river terrace exposure in the distance. The lowest river terrace is to the left, with recent accumulations of river gravel and cobbles to the right of the photo. Pale contorted calc-silicate lenses and bands can be seen in the grey bedrock under the bridge.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 20, 2023
The River Feshie is cutting into the base of river terraces, as seen in the coarse boulders and clays in the eroded river cliff. The most recent river terrace, to the left of the present river channel, dates from about 1000 BP and further accumulations of river cobbles are gradually being stabilised by vegetation.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 22, 2023
The tributary of Allt Garbhlach joins the River Feshie at this point, eroding through the late-glacial Allt Garbhlach alluvial fan.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 22, 2023
This reach of the River Feshie is a classic example of an actively braiding river. Shingle banks are cut by new channels creating eyots (islands of shingle in the river channel), some of which are stable enough to develop woodland.
Alison Tymon
Sept. 22, 2023
The upper valley narrows south of Ruigh Fonntaig. Scree slopes of Moine schist debris from the cliffs on both side of the river contribute weathered rock to the River Feshie.