Boat of Garten Travel Guide

Boat of Garten, so named because of the ferry that crossed the River Spey here until 1898 when a bridge was built.

Boat of Garten is well known for its Steam Railway, its excellent golf course and for the nearby RSPB reserve at Loch Garten, home to mating Osprey pairs in the summer months.

The famous River Spey flows beside the town and water sports are catered for on nearby lochs Morlich and Insh.

The Strathspey Steam Railway runs along an 1863 line from Aviemore to Boat of Garten through some spectacular highland scenery for which the Spey Valley is well renowned. The line is currently being extended to Grantown on Spey.

Wildlife is in abundance in the Spey Valley, a stronghold for many rare species of insects, birds, mammals and plants, including the Caledonian forest that once covered all of Scotland.

This has helped the area become the Cairngorms National Nature Reserve, which covers some 100 square miles, incorporating parts owned by the Scottish Natural Heritage and private estates (Rothiemurchus, Glenfeshie, GlenAvon and Mar Lodge).

The town is an ideal base for a large variety of outdoor sports including skiing, both cross-country and downhill, husky racing, golf, horse riding, climbing and walking, bird watching, fishing and water sports. Fishing is available on the River Spey and at numerous nearby trout lochs.

In a pool on the River Spey north of Boat of Garten, several parts of a stone slab lie. The stone slab was put there to mark the spot of a miracle after a funeral party was trying to find a way across the river to bury a woman in 1865. Apparently the water separated to allow the party to cross. The people of nearby Knock Farm later took part of the slab to use as a doorstep. The house immediately became inhabited by a poltergeist. Not surprisingly the people died. The slab was returned to the river and the poltergeist dispersed.

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