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Publication Account
Date 1995
Event ID 1016686
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016686
The Glen Affric scheme was the first stage in the development of the Beauly River resources. The main power station at Fasnakyle on the River
Glass, 3km southwest of Cannich, opened in 1950, is built of stone as more in keeping with the landscape than concrete. It is faced with golden-yellow sandstone from near Burghead in Morayshire, and the decorative carvings near the top include an adaptation of the Pictish bull symbol so popular at Burghead. Beyond Fasnakyle is Loch Benevean with a dam across its mouth 37m high; there are car park and viewpoints here. Beyond is Loch Affric, in what is generally considered one of the most beautiful glens in Scotland. Care was taken not to alter the level of water in this loch.
Extra water is brought to Loch Benevean by a tunnel, 5.5km long, through the hills from Loch Mullardoch; to get to the latter by road requires a return to Cannich. The dam on Loch Mullardoch (NH 222313) is much larger and higher than that at Benevean, being 727m long and 48m high. Further north in another section of the scheme there are dams in Glen Strathfarrar. Here there is a dam at the end of Loch Beannacharan (NH 325393), and an interesting dam on Loch Monar (NH 203393) built in a curve. Few examples of such arch dams are found in Britain because the shape of the valleys are generally unsuitable. The Loch Monar dam is some 22km up a single track road: this is a gated private road passing thtough a nature reserve, open to walkers and bicyclists, but with limited access for cars in summer (tel. gatekeeper, Struy 260).
In the gorge of the Beauly River there are two smaller dams, both incorporating a power station, at Aigas (NH 474436) and Kilmorack (NH 494442). Both these dams and that at Loch Beannacharan incorporate Borland fish passes, which allow salmon to pass up and down stream: these are not conventional fish ladders, but work more like locks on a canal. The fish lift at Aigas dam is open to the public. All the power from the Glen Affric/Farrer/Beauly stations is fed into the Highland Grid.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: The Highlands’, (1995).
