River Garry

The River Garry flows through Glen Garry in the Highlands, starting in remote wilderness east of Knoydart and ending at Loch Oich in the Great Glen. It is joined by two long lochs, Loch Quoich and Loch Garry, both dammed in the 1950s to supply hydroelectric power stations. The dams raised the lochs’ levels, changing the river’s ecology and creating reservoirs that power stations still use today. The river’s course is shaped by hydroelectric schemes built to regenerate the area after the Second World War. Loch Quoich’s dam is Scotland’s largest mass earth-fill dam, while Loch Garry’s smaller dam includes a fish pass to help salmon reach spawning grounds. Near Invergarry, the river passes the site of a 17th-century castle once home to Clan Donald, and a late 19th-century suspension footbridge crosses the water. Visitors follow a minor road along the northern shores of both lochs, passing islands, burns and hills like Torr na Carraidh. At Invergarry, a bowstring suspension bridge carries a plaque from 1892, and a concrete arch bridge built in 1932 carries the main road. The river widens into Loch Poulary and Loch Doire Aoidheil before joining Loch Oich, where the landscape reflects the river’s role in Highland history and power generation.