The Mighty Salmon!

When we stay in Perthshire we go to the beautiful little town of Pitlochry. The town is set in really beautiful surroundings and has some lovely buildings.

On one side of town there is the River Tummel and a hydro-electric dam which also has a fish ladder (so that salmon can move up the river).



Salmon are born in tiny streams (called ‘burns’ in Scotland) that flow into rivers. They live in fresh-water for up to 4 years. Then they go into the sea where they can live for another few years. When they want to ‘breed’ (make baby salmon) they ALWAYS return to the river where they were born.

When they return to freshwater they stop eating. They also have to jump up waterfalls, which is very exciting to watch! You will hopefully see salmon if you come with us in July.

Photo taken by Roy Lathwell and is reproduced here under a Creative Commons License.