River Beauly facts for kids
The River Beauly (which in Scottish Gaelic is called Abhainn nam Manach) is a river in the Scottish Highlands. It flows about 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) west of the city of Inverness.
The River Beauly is about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) long. It starts near a village called Struy. This is where two other rivers, the River Farrar and the River Glass, join together. The river then winds its way east. It flows past the south side of the village of Beauly before emptying into the Beauly Firth.
Bridges Over the River
The first bridge built over the River Beauly was around 1817. A famous engineer named Thomas Telford built the Lovat Bridge. This bridge had five arches and was about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) southwest of Beauly. For many years, this bridge carried the A9, which was the main road heading north. However, a new bridge called the Kessock Bridge opened in 1982, and the A9 road moved there.
Later, in the 1860s, a railway bridge was built across the river near Beauly. This bridge was for the Inverness & Ross-shire Railway, which is now part of the Far North Line. Another road bridge was built near Kilmorack in the 20th century.
Making Electricity
The River Beauly is an important part of the Affric-Beauly hydro-electric power scheme. This scheme uses the river's water to make electricity. There are dams and power stations at two places: Aigas and Kilmorack.
Both the Aigas and Kilmorack power stations have large generators that can produce 20 megawatts of electricity each. To help fish, especially salmon, move past the dams, special "fish ladders" were built. These ladders allow salmon to swim upstream to lay their eggs. The fish ladder at Aigas is even open for visitors to see during the summer!
Eilean Aigas
There is an island in the River Beauly called Eilean Aigas.
