Pitlochry, Killiecrankie, Hydropower

During about the past fifteen years, we've come to know Pitlochry quite well, especially the view of the River Tummel and Ben Vrakie from the cafe of the Festival Theatre. Cuppas there not just just while we've been staying in the area, but also when heading along the A9 towards / back from Inverness, the Highlands and islands. I stayed for a couple of nights here at the SYHA, at  the end of April last year, stopping over here after our Strath Spey and Inverness trip. When we were here five years ago, we climbed up Ben Vrakie. The focal point, is the hydropower dam on the River Tummel, with the Loch Faskally reservoir above it.

Our trip here on May 19th, was for My Cycling Man to register for the Caledonian Etape, picking up his number. Before doing that, we looked round the dam area, including the new Visitor Centre all about the dam and the wider Tummel hydropower scheme(see below). This opened last February. That Friday, everything was kicking, or rather wheeling off, ahead of the Etape on the Sunday: stalls / registration / parking being set up, cyclists arriving. As always the main street was very crowded, though more with the grockel crowds than Etappers. We avoided it on the Saturday, when we expected even more people to be descending on the town, and the parking trickier. We did, though head over in the evening to meet up with another Etape / cycling friend from Inverness, over an curry in the Indian restaurant. The portions were, let's say very generous. We didn't finish it all, the two Etapees needing to pace themselves and show restraint ahead of the big ride the next day.

After the Etape, we returned on Wednesday 24th May to revisit the Loch Faskally- Garry Gorge - Killiecrankie walk.

River Garry and Killiecrankie, 24th May

Weather warming up, broken cloud, brightest weather in morning and late afternoon. Westerly breeze at least to keep midges away (most of them) and take edge off the warmth. Still 18-19C, but always feels warmer up here.

An out-and-back walk along the eastern shore of Loch Faskally, rather than the circular walk taking in the Lin of Tummel. Western side of loch, more road and less shade. Large part of eastern shore shaded.

Parked in cp near the Pitlochry Dam visitor centre. A brief stretch along the loch shore from there. Water level much higher this morning than last Friday, but down again when we came back this way. Variation clearly to do with the dam / hydropower releases, and not hydrological. A strandline where water had been during the morning. After diverting round posh hotel etc., returned to Loch shore and followed path under A9 aluminium road bridge high above the loch. Footbridge nearby, and remains of stone bridge which existed here prior to the dam beginning operating in 1950.

Inland again, following undulating path past lochan where water lilies growing. Then rejoined the shore and followed it round past the fisheries research centre. Clunie power station visible on far side. Then continued round Faskally house, entering the wooded Glen Garry.

Path started off on the flat as the river opened out into the loch, water flowing on the far side of broad gravel, or rather boulder banks. Bigger clasts (about 30cm) here than along the Lyon or Tay, implying faster flows. A boating party of youngsters, paddling in several large dinghies, instructions "Change your captain!".

The river then narrowed and steepened in the gorge towards Killiecrankie, the path climbing above it. A section with rapids. Another party of youngsters drifted down the rapids laid back in rubber ring type boats / coracle size dinghies.

Went under the high road bridge (gondola beneath for maintenance), where the dark water flowed in deep pools, the steeply dipping rocks continuing steeply down into the water. This was very clear as we stood on the (now reopened) footbridge looking along the gorge towards the road bridge downstream, and towards Killiecrankie upstream. Last year, when I came this way, the footbridge had been closed following the storms (Desmond, Dec 2015) the previous winter. Though well above the river, landslips on the steep sided valley made it too unstable. On the nearside of the bridge, still a big hole of loose soil, till etc. where the slippage had occurred.

The diversion up to the main road / General Wade's road just below it had gone now, too. The path beneath the railway viaduct was now open and could follow that all the way to Killiecrankie. Still lots of debris from the 2015/16 winter storms / floods on the banks between the path and the river, including uprooted trees, large branches, though now getting absorbed into this year's spring greenery.

A charcoal kiln, beech trees invasive species up here, apparently.

Another stretch of rapids just before the viaduct. The valley beneath the viaduct wider, with broad boulder banks. Lunch on a bench beneath the viaduct, carrying the Perth-Inverness line. A quick sketch of the view looking upriver towards the Soldier's Leap.  Brief because a few midges about.

Soldiers Leap reached by climbing up onto cliff above river. At the Leap, the river narrowed (jump was 5.5m), constrained between steeply dipping, thickly bedded rocks. White water / waterfall. A quick sketch of the waterfall as people came and went. My Cycling Man sat on the bench overlooking the viaduct, though no trains until we'd walked back downstream of the viaduct. Flow through the waterfall very respectable, i.e. there was something to see here. Likewise further down the gorge, too. Flow also good on small burns / drainage running under viaduct. For some reason, SEPA's Killiecrankie flow gauge has read on the very low side everytime I've looked during the past year. I assume it is sited in the deeper part of the river, and not on a big shallow bolder bank, liable to be readily high and dry when the river falls. 

Killiecrankie and The Soldier's Leap

My overall impression was of a more natural, less regulated river than the Tummel, or the Lyon even, with a more varied, more flashy flow. Actually, according to the River Tay Western Catchments (Scottish Nature Woods, 2010), the Garry is the most heavily abstracted river in the Tay basin. It is considerably influenced by hydropower infrastructure: there is a dam at the end of Loch Errochty, in a tributary valley on the right bank. The Garry runs close to the A9 for much of its way above Killiecrankie, after flowing east out of Loch Garry. Though not apparent from the OS Landranger map, there is a pipeline transferring water from Loch Garry into Loch Ericht (SSE – Tummel hydropower scheme maps). 

Dam and Fish Ladder, Visitor Centre, Hydropower in Perthshire

Visitor Centre

On the lower floor of the centre, there was an exhibition about the building of the dam; its completion in 1950; and the extensive Loch Tummel hydropower scheme; and how hydropower works. As with the John Muir Trust's exhibition in the main street, it was all done well: i.e. informative without dry, stuffy info' overload, and not dumbed down to be trendy or get down with the kids either. There was a mix of short bits of text, audio-visual, interactive touchscreen, and some very effective interactive models. A large display case filled with electrical appliances dating from the 1950s, about the time the dam began operating. Compared to now, all very basic and sparse looking, though probably better built to last. I tried out one of the touchscreens - designing a hydropower scheme - "Well done, you're an apprentice engineer, though need more on-the-job training". There were wind-up models of the fish ladder Pitlochry, electromagnetism (generators). Particularly effective was the turn-the-handle and see if you can light up the light bulbs. This couldn't have demonstrated the dramatic difference in power demand (wattage) between a halogen bulb and LED.  

This scheme, and Scottish hydropower more generally is now managed by SSE, Scottish Southern Energy.  Out and about by the Pitlochry dam and the Lawers Dam (next entry) we saw their blue and green vans. 

In the centre of the room, a large 3D map showing the sheer spatial extent of the scheme upstream of the Pitlochry dam, involving power stations, smaller dams, pipelines and tunnels. I also have a booklet Pitlochry and the Tummel Valley produced by one of SSE's predecessors, though I can't see a date on it (a while ago judging from the cars and fashions pictured).

Clunie Dam

The total area of the scheme is 1800 square kilometres. Ultimately, all the water comes through the Pitlochry dam, but along the way it will often have generated power more than once. Water can be transferred between lochs, even river catchments, as demand requires. It's mainly the Tummel catchment, including Loch Tummel and Loch Rannoch and the long narrow NE-SW running Loch Ericht  to the west. At the northern end, Dalwhinnie, it takes in headwaters from the Spey (Glen Truim).  When walking to / from Killiecrankie, Clunie power station was on the far side, near where the Tummel and Garry join at the head of Loch Faskally. Enroute to forest walks in the Glen Tummel and Loch Rannoch area (23rd May), we passed Tummel power station on the south side of the River Tummel just below Tummel Bridge, completely unaware of the aqueduct conveying water between Dunalastair reservoir (between Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel) and Loch Tummel. On the road on along the north shore of Loch Tummel, we passed Errochty Power Station whidh receives water via a pipeline from Loch Errochty and burns on the left bank of the River Garry. At 75MW, this is the largest power station on the network and has the biggest head (gradient between power station and reservoir), 186m. The installed capacity at the Pitlochry dam is 15MW. During our forest walk above the south shore of Loch Rannoch (Carie Burn, 23rd May), a view of a pipeline coming down the hillside to Rannoch power station on the NW shore of the loch. This came down from Loch Ericht.

There is also the Breadalbane scheme affecting the Tay Basin via Loch Tay and Glen Lyon (see next entry).

Above the gallery, a cafe, the floor overhanging to look out onto the dam. A balcony on the lower level, though had to go outside to access that. Had a cuppa here after our Killiecrankie walk. 

References and Links

1. The Tay Western Catchments Projects, Scottish Natural Woods (2010)

2. Hydropower schemes – Power from the Glens, Scottish Southern Energy (SSE) http://sse.com/media/87078/powerfromtheglens.pdf

3.Overview of the Tummel Valley Hydropower Scheme http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst3844.html

J