The River Dee Trust, organised the first festival to celebrate all aspects of the River Dee on Saturday. We were delighted it was such a success after hundreds of people took part in a range of events.

The Celebration of the Living River Festival was held in the grounds of Banchory Lodge Hotel after the actor, singer and angler Robson Green opened the river’s salmon fishing season by blessing it with whisky and taking the ceremonial first cast.

Prizes and certificates were presented to North East pupils taking part in the first major art competition on the theme of conservation in the valley.

The Trust, thanked the many families who attended. Chairman Sandy Bremner said: “It was great to see so many people of all ages, learning about the richness of our river and the efforts being made to help its threatened creatures - from our magnificent salmon, to the endangered freshwater pearl mussels.

“It was also a joy to see youngsters who’d never before touched a fishing rod experience the sheer fun of fly-casting or rolling up their sleeves to get their hands wet in our interactive displays.”

The Trust reported overwhelming public support for their project announced earlier in the week, to plant a million native trees over the next 15 years to help save salmon threatened by high summer temperatures in the upper river.