KELTNEY BURN (LOWER)

See page 264 of the Scottish Guidebook.

A tributary of the Lyon, the Keltney Burn runs off Schiehallion.Check levels in Glen Lyon at the Keltneyburn Hotel bridge. If the drop looks watery but fun get on. If it looks like all the rocks are underwater do the top section (see page 262 of the guidebook).

Needs some water, but too much and trees would become a major issue. Too little and you would be cursing this as a nasty scrape. Too much would, I suspect, turn into an epic!

This is a brilliant wee river, but the portages are very strenuous. if you don't like heights or crumbly banks stay away!

The first half of the river is classic grade 4, with ledges and pools. Watch out for trees! Some of the action is enclosed in tight gorges: bank scouting is hairier than the boating! One drop sticks in the memory, with a really tight lead-in and a blind drop at the end. This one was a bit rocky, but the hole would have been humungous in higher water!

Further down an obvious steepening in the gradient indicates the hardest drop: a twisty ramp into a very nasty hole. Don't get it wrong: the consequences of swimming here are horrific. More grade 4 leads down to a tree blockage. Be VERY careful in high water as eddies are limited above this. The portage wasn't straightforward, and seal launching in between the branches was quite hair-raising!

The river slackens slightly until a set of final ledges before the Falls of Keltney. These ledges are brilliant, with flaring boof moves to avoid sticky-looking holes. The first of the Falls looks great, but the next drop is BIG and lands on rock. The exit from the pool below the fiist drop would definitely involve a rope and some prussicking: it didn't appeal! You can either get off here or get back in below the Falls.

Back to the GLEN LYON rivers page.