England-Scotland Day 6 (Part 1) – Pitlochry Dam and Power Station and the Salmon Ladder

8 April 2010

Pitlochry Fish Ladder and Dam was constructed between 1947 and 1951, damming up the River Tummel to form Loch Faskally some 5km in length. With such a massive obstacle (the dam) across the River Tummel it was necessary to create a way for the 5,000+ salmon each year to pass upstream to spawn. Hence a Fish Ladder was built next to the dam and it would be a good opportunity to see some salmon swimming upstream.

I planned to visit the Pitlochry Fish Ladder and Dam in the morning before leaving Pitlochry where we had stayed for one night during our road trip.

I was the first to wake up and witness the morning mist drifting into the town from the bedroom windows of the Well House B&B in Pitlochry.

View from the bedroom of the Well House at Pitlochry , Scotland.

After a good breakfast, packed and ready to go, I paid our host, Mr Gordon Leaman, for the stay. I asked him for some directions on how to get to the Pitlochry Dam and Power Station from the B&B by car. The dam is located on the other side of the A9 via Armoury Road and it was easy to find.

As advised by Mr Leaman, we parked the car at the open spaces near the dam and walked along the access road by the river towards the dam. It was drizzling intermittently in the morning sun, so a rainbow was seen over the dam.

Faint rainbow over the Pitlochry Dam and Power Station.

Walking to the dam. The first part of the the Salmon Ladder could be seen on the left.

Pitlochry Dam and Power Station and with the Salmon Ladder in the foreground. The ladder is leading the fish up (away from the dam at this first stage), and then make a U-turn underneath the road and continue up over the dam at the second stage of the ladder.

Second part of the Salmon Ladder, leading up to the dam.

The fish ladder was specially constructed to enable salmon to by-pass the dam and make their way upstream to Loch Faskally above the dam.

The fish ladder was built at the dam to allow salmon to move up and over the 86.5m high dam and get to the spawning grounds upstream. The ladder is 310 metres long and consists of 34 chambers, linked together by pipes that the salmon can swim through.

There are sophisticated counters to keep track of the number of salmon that went up through the ladders each year. About 5000 fish (salmon and sea-trout) used the ladder each year between April and late September.  Glass windows in a viewing chamber allowed close-up view of the fish using the ladder. Unfortunately, we did not get to see any adult salmon while we were there, but we saw a few small fish in the chambers. Maybe we are too early and the migration by the adult fish up the river to spawn had not started.

The Scottish Hydro Electric Visitor Centre was worth a visit to see how electricity is generated from the dam.

A life size model of an adult Salmon is displayed in the visitor centre. It also featured many interactive and educational exhibits.

The Scottish Hydro Electric Visitor Centre also showed the history of the dam building, environment protection, how hydro-electricity is generated, why and how the fish make their epic journey from their birthplace in Highland rivers, out to sea and back upstream to spawn.

As we were leaving the Visitor Centre, we met Mr Leaman again. He had cycled to the dam, in the drizzle, with an umbrella in hand, to look for us and return me some money. I had apparently over paid him earlier due to my mistake in not recognising the denomination of the Sterling Pound notes. A truly honest and commendable gentleman!