Glen Lui Salmon Ladder

The Glen Lui Salmon Ladder was built alongside an impressive waterfall, to assist the salmon on their journey from the River Dee to their spawning ground.

The 40m structure runs up the left side of the waterfall and is made of concrete and rubble. It was constructed during the Victorian era when the area was renowned for its hunting and fishing.

Glen Lui is part of the Mar Lodge Estate, which was owned by the Earl of Fife at the time the salmon ladder was constructed. The area was a favourite of Queen Victoria, who spent time here whilst on her visits to nearby Balmoral. Her granddaughter Louise, married Alexander Duff, the 6th Earl of Fife (1st Duke of Fife), who owned the estate between the 1879 and the early 1912.

The Mar Lodge Estate was bought by the National Trust for Scotland back in 1995, and they have nurtured it into a wilderness of nature for us all to enjoy.

The salmon ladder does have a harsh industrial look in comparison to the stunning natural surroundings, however, if you visit in September - October you may be lucky enough to see the damaged structure in use.

The best part of the Glen Lui Salmon Ladder is the beautiful walk to get there. There is plenty of parking in the large National Trust for Scotland car park at the Linn of Dee.

It is well worth visiting the Linn of Dee before making your way up Glen Lui.

From the Linn of Dee, head north east alongside the River Dee, through the woodland. When the path meets the road, cross over and turn right heading alongside the road.

The path will take you to the point where the Lui Water meets the River Dee, turn left up the Glen Lui.

The water is incredibly clear and there are many opportunities to make your way down to the waterside and enjoy the water flowing over and between the large slabs of granite.

Continue upstream until you reach the impressive salmon ladder. It is quite hard to get close to the structure as it is in a gorge, but if you enjoy a bit of scrambling, you could make your way closer with great care.

Instead of heading back the same way, you can continue to make the walk a 3km Glen Lui Loop.

The walk will take you further up the glen before joining the main track into the mountains, where you turn left and head through the beautiful woodland back to the car park.

While you are in the area, keep an eye out for some unique wildlife. I saw a Capercaillie while in the area once, but is popular with tons of other wildlife species. It is a favourite spot for Black Grouse leks. You would be unlucky not to spot a red squirrel or two in the woodland and the water is the perfect place to see dippers, goosanders and other water birds.

It is around 1.5km to reach the Salmon Ladder.

Follow the above route, or find on OS Maps.