In at the deep end

Leaning over Culquoich bridge, I stared down into the peat-tinged depths of the Aberdeenshire Don and marvelled at its beauty. There is something about a salmon river after a summer spate that is inviting and filled with the promise of fresh-run fish. It draws you to it and urges you to cast a line across its glides and pools.

Never a broad river, the hurried nature of the Don betrays its mountainous birth in the hags and corries of Aberdeenshire’s high hills. Often bypassed by those who journey to the Spey and Dee, it is a jewel fixed in a perfect setting.

Taking rod in hand once again, I crossed the bridge and, climbing a stile placed with the angler in mind, headed upstream toward the Doctor’s Pool. In pursuit of summer salmon, I waded through waist-deep willowherb, whose flowers