A life of water, wood and whisky.

Water, wood and whisky have long been at the heart of life along the River Spey. For generations, the bravest men of the Spey, who knew every inch and eddy of the perilous river, worked as ‘timmer floaters’, expertly guiding enormous timber rafts down its fast flowing waters.

En route, they stopped at local distilleries to provide wood to fire the stills and craft into casks, pausing for a bite to eat before traveling on through the freezing waters. The timmer floaters continued their journey downriver to Speyside’s ports, where their floating cargo was used to construct great wooden ships for carrying Scotland’s finest whiskies to the world.

Spey River celebrates these timmer floaters – the bravest men of the Spey – and their incredible contribution to the ‘Water of Life’.