River Dee to feature on Grand Tours of Scotland’s Rivers on BBC One

The River Dee will feature on BBC One’s Grand Tours of Scotland’s Rivers tonight.

The 87-mile river – Scotland’s fifth longest – will be explored across a 30-minute episode tonight at 8.30pm.

Seasoned traveller Paul Murton will be hosting the show as he takes viewers to the highest-rising river in the UK in the heart of the Cairngorm mountains.

He learns about writer and mountain lover Nan Shepherd’s passion for the living landscape, before hearing tales about a hundred-year-old Jacobite, and a zeppelin airship that attacked a bare mountain.

Mr Murton will also learn about John Brown – Queen Victoria’s very special friend whose photograph and ring she took to the grave.

Mr Murton is a graduate of Aberdeen University and the National Film and Television School.

He has previously hosted series such as Scotland’s Clans, Grand Tours of Scotland, Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands and Grand Tours of Scotland’s Lochs

Two episodes of Deeside adventuring

A second episode featuring the Dee will air next Monday, following the route at its lower levels.

In this episode, Mr Murton runs aground in a canoe before getting stuck trying to thread his body through an ancient fertility stone.

Then in the village of Banchory, he breathes in the scent of lavender, before taking a train along the Royal Deeside Line and heading into Aberdeen.

While in the Granite City, he learns a secret recipe for the city’s famous rowie – a Caledonian version of the croissant.

His Deeside adventure ends on the city’s famous golden sands.

River Dee Trust thanks show for ‘showcasing’ river

The River Dee Trust posted on social media that although they were not directly involved in filming this episode, they wanted to thank the show for “showcasing” the river.

A team from the organisation met up with the crew when they were in Aboyne and thanked them for their work.

Last week, the trust announced Robson Green and Dame Katherine Grainger as the rivers ambassadors to help work to save the under-threat salmon.

A spokeswoman for the trust said the TV show was a good move to help “raise the profile” of the river.

She said it would be good for tourism to highlight the “lovely part of Scotland we live in”.

But she said the trust’s team will be just as surprised as other viewers when they tune in to watch.

In the previous season, Mr Murton explored the River Garry, the River Spey and the South Esk River.

If you miss the show, catch up on BBC i-Player.