Boat of Garten
Encyclopedia
Post town
A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system. Including the correct post town in the address increases the chances of a letter or parcel being delivered on time. Post towns are usually based upon the location of...
in Badenoch and Strathspey
Badenoch and Strathspey
Badenoch and Strathspey as a local government district 1975 to 1996Badenoch and Strathspey is a local government ward of the Highland council area and a ward management area of the Highland Council in Scotland...
, Highland
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. In 1951, the population was less than 400; in 1971, it was almost 500; in 1981, it was almost 700, and the same in 2001.
Etymology
The settlement names derives from the nearby old ferry over the River Spey. However, its early history does not refer to the "boat" or ferry as Pont's map of 1600 and Roy's map of 1750 named the location simply "Garten".It is also known as"Osprey village" due to its significant population of Osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
s.
Geography
Boat of Garten is located between AviemoreAviemore
Aviemore is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popular for skiing and other winter sports, and for hill-walking in the Cairngorm...
and Grantown-on-Spey
Grantown-on-Spey
Grantown-on-Spey is a town in the Highland Council Area in Scotland.It was founded in 1765 as a planned settlement on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorm mountains, about 20 miles South East of Inverness .It is the main town in what was the...
. It lies to the northeast of Aviemore, just north of Auchgourish and east of Kinveachy. Grantown is 7.5 miles (12.1 km) away. Loch Garten lies to the southeast of the village.
Situated at an altitude of 220 metres (721.8 ft) above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
, it lies 8 kilometres (5 mi) from the River Spey in the Cairngorms National Park
Cairngorms National Park
The Cairngorms National Park is a national park in north east Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, set up in 2002. The park covers the Cairngorms range of mountains, and...
. Being close to the Cairngorm Mountains
Cairngorms
The Cairngorms are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain of the same name - Cairn Gorm.-Name:...
. it is in view of the Lairig Ghru
Lairig Ghru
The Lairig Ghru is one of the mountain passes through the Cairngorms of Scotland.Like many traditional routes the ends of the route through the Lairig Ghru are like the ends of a frayed rope. From the south the Lairig Ghru can be approached from Braemar though Glen Lui, or Glen Dee, and from Blair...
and the northern Braeriach
Braeriach
Braeriach is the third highest mountain in Great Britain, surpassed only by Ben Nevis and Ben Macdui. It is the highest point in the western massif of the Cairngorms, separated from the central section by the pass of the Lairig Ghru. The summit has a crescent shape, with several corries...
corries
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
.
The area between Boat of Garten and Loch Garten is within the Abernethy Forest
Abernethy Forest
Abernethy Forest is a remnant of the Caledonian Forest near Aviemore, Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland, Scotland. It is an RSPB reserve, close to Loch Garten Osprey Centre, which is also owned by the RSPB. There is approximately 4,000 hectares of forest within the reserve, and just under half of...
National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
, Boat of Garten being on the forest fringe.
Landmarks
St Columba's Church was built in the summer of 1900 at a cost of £820, and the church hall was added in 1934.After the Disruption of 1843
Disruption of 1843
The Disruption of 1843 was a schism within the established Church of Scotland, in which 450 ministers of the Church broke away, over the issue of the Church's relationship with the State, to form the Free Church of Scotland...
, the men of the area engaged in a fanaticism, erecting the "Stone of the Spey" below Boat of Garten. The stone was inscribed by one William Grant and was erected in 1865 in memory of the late wife of Patrick Grant. As it was associated with scandal, the district residents destroyed it and threw it into the river.
The village is also renowned for the nearby RSPB
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Bird Notes and News was first published in April 1903.The title changed to 'Bird Notes' in 1947. In the 1950s, there were four copies per year . Each volume covered two years, spread over three calendar years...
reserve at Loch Garten
Loch Garten Osprey Centre
Loch Garten is a large Highland freshwater loch near Boat of Garten, in the Strathspey area of the Cairngorms National Park, in Scotland. It is surrounded by the tall pine trees of the Abernethy Forest, a large area of which is an RSPB nature reserve...
, approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) to the east.
The village features a golf course, originally designed by James Braid
James Braid (golfer)
James Braid was a Scottish professional golfer and a member of the Great Triumvirate of the sport alongside Harry Vardon and John Henry Taylor. He won The Open Championship five times...
. Built in 1898, it was expanded in 1931. it has been ranked as one of the top 35 courses in Scotland.
Flora and fauna
Alyssum calycinum, L., Cerastium arvense, L., Vaccinium Vitia-Idcea, L., and Kcelerva cristata are found in the village, as are Juniperus communisJuniperus communis
Juniperus communis, the Common Juniper, is a species in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae. It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia.-...
, Arctostaphylos Vva-ursi, L., Empetrum nigrum, L., Juniperus communis, L., and Hypnum crista-castrensis, L. Rare fungi include Agaricus (Amanita) virosus, Fr., A. (Armillaria) buWiger, A. & S., A. (Flammula) spumoaus, Fr., Paxillua atrotomentosus, Fr., Cantharellua umbonatus, Fr., Hydnum imbrvcatum, L., H. fragile, Fr., and H. acrobiculatum, Fr.
Transportation
The railway through the village was built by the Inverness and Perth Junction RailwayInverness and Perth Junction Railway
The Inverness and Perth Junction Railway was built to link the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway at Forres and Perth and Dunkeld Railway, ultimately absorbing the latter.- History :...
. Latter, it was joined by the Strathspey Railway
Strathspey Railway (GNoSR)
Strathspey Railway is an historic railway in Scotland that ran from Boat of Garten to Dufftown.-History:The line was opened on 1 July 1863 between Dufftown and Abernethy . It was extended to meet up with the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway at Boat of Garten on 1 August 1866...
to Dufftown
Dufftown
Dufftown is a burgh in Banffshire, Scotland.The town was originally named Mortlach in the Middle Ages, until the 19th century when the Earl of Fife built the town as a housing for soldiers returning home from war...
. Following closure, it is now preserved as part of the Strathspey Steam Railway.
Before a bridge was built over the Spey, Boat of Garten had an important ferry over the river.