The River Avon (locally “Aan” /ɑːn/) is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
in the
Strathspey area of the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...
, and a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
River Spey
The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishi ...
. It drains the north-eastern area of the
Cairngorm Mountains and is largely contained within the
Cairngorms National Park
The source of the River Avon is conventionally said to be
Loch Avon
Loch A'an is a remote freshwater loch set deep within the central Cairngorms plateau, in the Cairngorms National Park, located in the eastern Highlands of Scotland. Loch A'an, also called Loch Avon, is the source of the River Avon. Loch A'an ...
situated between
Cairn Gorm
Cairn Gorm ( gd, An Càrn Gorm) is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. It is part of the Cairngorms range and wider Grampian Mountains. With a summit elevation of above sea level, Cairn Gorm is classed as a Munro and is the seventh-h ...
and
Ben Macdui
Ben Macdui ( gd, Beinn MacDuibh, meaning "MacDuff's mountain") is the second-highest mountain in Scotland and all of the British Isles, after Ben Nevis, and the highest of the Cairngorm Mountains. The summit is above sea level and it is cla ...
(
Gaelic: ''Beinn MacDhuibh'').
[Royal Scottish Geographical Society, (2006), ''Scotland: an encyclopedia of places & landscapes'', page 39] Loch Avon itself collects headwaters from a number of burns on these two mountains. From Loch Avon, the river then continues east down
Glen Avon to the north of
Ben Avon, for 10 miles before turning north towards the village of
Tomintoul
Tomintoul (; from gd, Tom an t-Sabhail, meaning "Hillock of the Barn") is a village in the Moray council area of Scotland in the historic county of Banffshire.
Within Cairngorms National Park, the village lies close to the banks of the River ...
and
Strath Avon
A strath is a large valley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow (as opposed to a glen, which is typically narrower and deep).
Word and etymology
An anglicisation of the Gaelic word ''srath'', it is one of many that have been abs ...
.
There is a River Avon Fishing Association that promotes tourism in nearby towns and fishing along the river.
Tributaries
Over the first few miles flowing east through the
Forest of Glenavon the Avon gathers to itself numerous small burns, the most notable of which are the Burn of Loin and the Builg Burn originating at Loch Builg. The latter flows down Glen Builg to enter the Avon on its right bank just downstream of the Linn of Avon.
A mile to the southwest of Tomintoul, the Water of Ailnack enters from the confines of a precipitous gorge - the higher reaches of this watercourse are known as the Water of Caiplich. Downstream of Tomintoul, the Conglass Water originating at the
Lecht
The Lecht Ski Centre is an alpine ski area in the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands. The ski slopes are set around the mountains Beinn a' Chruinnich, 2,552 ft (778 m) and Meikle Corr Riabhach, 2556 ft (779 m).
The Lecht is the smal ...
, enters from the east and the Burn of Lochy enters from Glen Lochy to the west. Above Bridge of Brown, the Lochy is fed in turn by the Burn of Brown. The lowermost tributary of the Avon is the River Livet which enters from
Glenlivet
Glenlivet (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Lìobhait) is the glen in the Scottish Highlands through which the River Livet flows.
The river rises high in the Ladder Hills, flows through the village of Tomnavoulin and onto the Bridgend of Glenlivet, ...
on the right bank at Drumin just as the Avon leaves the national park.
Etymology
In common with the various other examples of Avon, the river takes its name from the
Gaelic ''abhainn'' meaning 'river' or 'stream'. The word, in common with the
Welsh ''afon'', is thought to originate from an early
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
root ''ab'' or ''aub''.
[Ross, D. 2001 ''Scottish Place-names'' Birlinn, Edinburgh]
References
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Avon, Strathspey
1Avon