Robin A. Crawford

Join Robin Crawford on a personal journey from the source of the River Tay to the sea. With the widest catchment area of any river in Britain, the Tay drains much of the lower Highlands of Scotland. A vast network of lochs and smaller bodies of water feed the Isla, Garry, Tummel, Almond and Earn, which all flow into this mighty river. As Robin Crawford walks along the banks of the Tay, we delve into the history of this landscape and his personal connection with it, from hill walks with friends into the mountains of the Tay’s source to his student days in Dundee, where the Tay eventually spills out into the North Sea. Along the route we dip into the river’s story: the gold-panners on the river Cononish, the Earthquake House outside Comrie, Beatrix Potter’s holiday home near Dunkeld. Throughout, the river is our constant companion, connecting the small moments on which events turn and lives are changed forever.

With the widest catchment area of any river in Britain, the Tay drains much of the lower Highlands of Scotland. A vast network of lochs and smaller bodies of water feed the rivers Isla, Garry, Tummel, Almond and Earn, which all in turn flow into this mighty river as it cuts its way through the landscape.Robin Crawford has a very personal connection to this river, and as he walks along its banks, from its source on Ben Lui until it spills into the North Sea at Dundee, we find paralells between his own experience and the broader history of the Tay.Reaching back to a prehistoric fish found near Balruddery in Perthshire, we follow its story through time to the present day, with detours to seek gold, clans, battles, forts, disasters, witches and whisky en route.In amongst this broader sweep of history is Robin’s own story. As he walks, he reminisces and reflects on the small moments of a life on which events turn.