A narrow rock gorge west of Braemar where the young River Dee funnels through a slot barely wide enough to jump across
West of Braemar, the River Dee — still young up here in the Cairngorms — is squeezed into a narrow channel it has cut through the rock, and pours through in a rush of white water. This is the Linn of Dee: a linn is a pool below a fall, or, as here, a tight gorge where the water forces through. It isn’t a tall vertical drop so much as a churning slot, deep and fast, crossed by a stone bridge that Queen Victoria opened in 1857. The National Trust for Scotland looks after the surrounding Mar Lodge Estate, with a car park and free access. It’s a well-used starting point for walks and long routes deeper into the Cairngorm hills.
