Fifty shades of Spey (cont.)

My intermittent walking of the Speyside Way continues every time I return home for a family visit. On this occasion, my route weaves in and out of the River Spey’s famous whisky trail.

Walking the old railway line

I also have company, my brother Sean and our stepmum Marion. Much of the trail follows an old railway line, one of the many that was decommissioned in the 1960s. This one connected Grantown-on-Spey with Elgin.

Marion and Sean, on track

As a former rail track, the path is often straight, much of it is tree-lined, and it takes along steep-sided embankments and across iron bridges.

Iron single-track bridge

A rare glimpse of the Spey

We walk past two old stone-built stations, now converted into holiday cottages, though the destination names are still proudly displayed. One, Blacksboat, is named after the ferry that carried people across the Spey in the days before the road bridge was built.

The station for the ferry crossing

At Ballindalloch we hit distillery country, with Glenlivet, Cragganmore, Tormore, Cardhu and Glenfiddich all nearby, then Tamdhu right by the path. We get whiffs of the aroma of fermenting grain long before the pagoda-like sheds and giant vats come into view.

Tamdhu mash tun

We’re now at Knockando, near the end of the day’s walk, and Sean has heard of a nice café in a former woollen mill just up the road. The Knockando Woolmill (knockandowoolmill.org.uk) turns out to be a fascinating – and newly operational – slice of Scottish textile history. 

Tweed bunting outside Knockando café

Back in the 18^th century, the mill was a bustling weaving hub for a clientele that stretched across the Highlands. District woollen mills were common as many homes were too small for some of the processes involved. Farmers brought fleeces to be converted into yarn, cloth and blankets. Tweed and other products were also sold. Knockando would have been a working farm, too, as textile production often went hand in hand with agriculture. But mass production in the 20^th century saw the mill decline and and production eventually ceased. Now, the original Victorian machinery has been restored so that it’s fully operational, and a variety of designers create dazzling contemporary patterns. Once again the walls echo with the sounds of industrial-scale weaving – indeed two of the looms in the weaving shed are thought to be the oldest still working in Scotland.

Revitalised Victorian loom

In the mill’s shop there is plenty to tempt us, from plaid handbags to mobile-phone carriers. But it’s the mill’s café we’re after, for its freshly made soup served with warm cheese scones and with melted butter. A treat well worth walking for.