Castlecary, Red Burn through the arches (geograph 2786081)

The Red Burn is one of two main streams which flow out of

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated ...

. The Scottish

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

’s name derives from the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

for "the meeting of the waters" and there is broad agreement that one of these waters is the Red Burn.

Source and course of the river

The Red Burn's headwater begins as a rivulet on the west side of Fannyside Lochs known as the Glencryan Burn. West Fannyside Loch, Fannyside - geograph

West Fannyside Loch, Fannyside - geograph

It flows west through Palacerigg Golf Course and becomes a significant geographic feature when it produces the Glencryan Reservoir south of Forest Road in Cumbernauld. The name of the stream from its source until it enters the Vault Glen is the Glencryan Burn. It enters Cumbernauld behind Cumbernauld Academy (formerly

Cumbernauld High Cumbernauld Academy (formerly Cumbernauld High School) was the first comprehensive secondary school in the then 'New Town' of Cumbernauld. It was designed by Scottish architects Gratton & McLean and it opened in 1964 and is a non-denominational ...

). The river then runs under Forest Road and its name changes to The Red Burn on the other side. The river takes a sudden turn to the east and is joined by a few nameless rivulets which come down from both the steep sided banks, the left bank being

Kildrum Kildrum was the first area to be constructed in Cumbernauld new town, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It provided housing for the workers at the Burroughs factory at Old Inns, the first factory in Cumbernauld New Town. The main road is in the shap ...

and the right hand being

Abronhill Abronhill () is an area in the north-east of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It extends from Cumbernauld Town Centre. Abronhill was planned with its own shopping centre and has three primary schools, along with several churches. Abronhi ...

. The

Scottish Wildlife Trust The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland. Description The Scottish Wildlife Trust has well over 35,000 members. The Scottish Wildlife Trust acquired its first w ...

owns the land around the river at this point with the exception of a sewage pipeline which runs through the Vault Glen. The Vault Glen has very steep sides with the stream some 25-30m below the brow of the hill and any rubbish dropped is difficult to remove although there have been some attempts to clean it up. The Red Burn crosses the railway under a large viaduct before its confluence with the Bog Stank just down river from the bridge over the path from the Park above. Glencryan Burn in Vault Glen - geograph

18th Century Bridge at Castlecary - geograph

After the confluence the Red Burn passes the dovecote and Broom Road, Abronhill before flowing back under the Forest Road Bridge heading towards Dunns Wood. From there the river passes through a sewage works. Work costing £3.8 million was completed on upgrading the water treatment system in 2013. Its purpose is to clean water from the Wardpark Estate before it joins the river.

Scottish Water Scottish Water is a statutory corporation that provides water and sewerage services across Scotland. It is accountable to the public through the Scottish Government. Operations Scottish Water provides drinking water to 2.46 million households ...

made a system of ponds which are designed to have the same effect as larger natural system. They contain the water then filter them and release the purified water slowly. The system called

Sustainable Urban Drainage System Sustainable drainage systems (also known as SuDS, IMG 20180527 192409328 Red Burn under canal

The only significant subsequent tributary of the Red Burn is the Walton Burn which flows round the east side of Abronhill. The river forms the border between Falkirk and North Lanarkshire councils at this point. The Red Burn then flows under the M80, the B816 and the 18th century

Castlecary Castlecary () is a small historic village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, directly adjacent to the border with Falkirk. It has long been associated with infrastructure, being adjacent to a bridged river, a Roman fort and roads, a nationwide c ...

Viaduct carrying the railway track. This is close to the historic

Castle Cary Castle Castle Cary Castle (sometimes called Castlecary Castle) is a fifteenth-century tower house, about from Falkirk, in the former county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. It is less than 3 miles from Cumbernauld Village. It is located near to the site o ...

. After the Red Burn has crossed the road and the railway it is then crossed by the

Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowe ...

on an aqueduct close to Bonny Water. The Red Burn's confluence with the smaller Bonny Water occurs just north of the canal and the river is now called the Bonny Water until it reaches the River Carron downstream. The Carron itself enters the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meanin ...

Grangemouth Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk ...

Competing Theories for Cumbernauld's Name

Cumbernauld is the largest town in

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...

. Some people think the name Cumbernauld's Gaelic name ''Comar nan Allt'' meaning "the confluence of the waters" refers to the meeting of the Red Burn with the Bog Stank stream. This occurs in the Vault Glen down the hill but very close to the site of the Comyn’s Castle. In support of this argument the oldest maps of Cumbernauld still in existence show the “Rid Burn” joining three other streams. On the map they all seem to come together at one point although this bears little relation to the current watercourses. Probably the earliest map which shows the river is the 1596 Pont's Map but is much easier to pick out on

Blaeu Blaeu is the name of * Willem Blaeu (1571–1638), Dutch cartographer and father of Joan Blaeu * Joan Blaeu (1596–1673), Dutch cartographer and son of Willem Blaeu * ''Blaeu Atlas of Scotland'', by Joan Blaeu, published in 1654 * ''Atlas Blaeu'' ...

's coloured map which was derived from it. Another stream named as the Horseward Burn is mentioned and is shown to join with the Red Burn. What this refers to is not at all clear. It's entirely possible it refers to a stream whose source would have been the high moor near to where the southern edge of the Town Centre is sited. This then flowed east and then south thru Carbrain gully then east again before joining the Red Burn. This stream consequently would have been culverted over and drained via the new towns drainage systems during the towns construction and therefore no longer exists. These older maps are reminiscent of the modern ''Friends of the Glen'' map which is also a stylised representation of the Park.Stylised map from Friends Of Cumbernauld Glen
Map including Vault Glen Pont's map does mention the Luggie but doesn't seem to associate this with Cumbernauld or its

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. In fact the Luggie is a considerable distance from

Cumbernauld Village Cumbernauld Village (often referred to locally as just ''the Village'') is an area of Cumbernauld. Whilst Cumbernauld was designated a new town in 1955, the Village itself has a pre-mediaeval history, with a Roman settlement being built in the a ...

. The name

Condorrat Condorrat is a former village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Like Luggiebank, Castlecary and Dullatur, it predates the new town of Cumbernauld, but unlike those Condorrat was officially included in the designated new town area. Since then it has o ...

, formerly a separate village but now part of the town, has a Gaelic origin too: "Comh Dobhair Alt" - The joint river place. This name may be close in meaning to Cumbernauld's. Andy Scott Arria Cumbernauld

The other competing theory is that the etymology of the name is to do with Cumbernauld being a

Scottish watershed The Scottish watershed is the drainage divide in Scotland that separates river systems that flow to the east into the North Sea from those that flow to the west and north into the Atlantic Ocean. At a point on the summit of Ben Lomond for example ...

. In that case the waters referred to are the Red Burn and the Luggie Water even though they do not in fact meet. In other words from its high point in the

Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in 2019), including Great ...

, The Luggie Water and the Red Burn flow either west to the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

or east to the

so Cumbernauld is a

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

. Jim Carruth, poet laureate of Glasgow, has a poem called Watershed which is inscribed on the base of Andy Scott's Arria, ''The Angel of the 'Naud'', statue which overlooks the A80 in Cumbernauld. This presupposes the etymology of the name is about Cumbernauld being a watershed. Hugo Millar, the respected local historian and author of two books about the town, espoused this view. Peter Drummond gives an analysis of both viewpoints from historical and geographical perspectives. What can be said with confidence is that Cumbernauld is named after the Red Burn.

Influence on Local Placenames

Three streets in Cumbernauld are named after the Red Burn and also use the older form of the name where ''Redburn'' is just one word. These are in the Abronhill part of the town. Similarly Redburn School takes its name from the stream.

Roman History

The

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some ...

named after the Roman Emperor

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatori ...

, crosses the Red Burn at Castlecary and Roman remains have been found on both sides of the river. The wall, built by Urbicus's men is named on the Unesco World Heritage list as a Frontier for the Roman Empire. However the land has been considerably worked for the

, the Glasgow to Edinburgh railway and the A80 now M80 road system. Older maps show how the fort of Castle Cary was to the east of the river, as was the later

. There is also the site of a Roman camp to the west of the river near the modern Castlecary Hotel. There is a gruesome story about how the Red Burn (sometimes called the Rid Burn or Redburn) was named. It involves the killing of

Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mid ...

's Roman soldiers whose bodies were dumped in the river at

making it run red.

Other Cumbernauldian Watercourses

Contrary to

Jon Ronson Jon Ronson (born 10 May 1967) is a British-American journalist, author, and filmmaker whose works include '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'' (2001), '' The Men Who Stare at Goats'' (2004), and ''The Psychopath Test'' (2011). He has been des ...

's insulting comments endorsed by

Craig Ferguson Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show '' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won ...

on C.B.S.'s Late, Late Show, Cumbernauld does have at least two rivers: the Red Burn and the Luggie Water. There is also the Moss Water which was dammed to form Broadwood Loch.

References

{{authority control Cumbernauld Rivers of Falkirk (council area) Rivers of North Lanarkshire