The River Teviot (; ), or Teviot Water, is a
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
of the
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...
area of
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, and is the largest
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers ...
by catchment area. The Teviot is an important river for wildlife, especially the
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...
, but in recent years has witnessed at least four extreme flooding events.
Course
It rises in the western foothills of Comb Hill on the border of
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...
. It flows north-eastwards through Teviotdale and past
Teviothead, the Colterscleuch Monument,
Broadhaugh,
Branxholme and Branxholme Castle.
The Teviot passes through
Hawick
Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...
and
Lanton, past the
Timpendean Tower and the village of
Ancrum, Harestanes and
Monteviot,
Nisbet and
Roxburgh
Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at lea ...
, before joining the
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers ...
to the southwest of
Kelso.
The
Borders Abbeys Way keeps close company with the Teviot on its journey to the Tweed.
Catchment and hydrometry
The river flows across a lowland catchment with shale underlying the surface. The headwaters are mostly moorland, woodland and some hill grazing. More intensively worked land for agriculture is found nearer the eastern end of the river where it flows into the Tweed.
The river is prone to flooding with serious events in Hawick in 2005 when it caused "millions of pounds' worth of damage", and the river level was recorded at . After two more extreme flooding events in 2015, and 2016 (when Jedburgh and Hawick saw water levels rising more than in an hour), a £44 million scheme was launched to provide the town with the requisite flood defences needed to extreme events occurring. Delays to the scheme meant that it wasn't started until 2020, by which time the town was subjected to extreme flooding again when
Storm Ciara
Storm Ciara was a powerful and long-lived extratropical cyclone that was the first of a pair of European windstorms to affect the United Kingdom and Ireland at peak intensity less than a week apart in early February 2020, followed by Storm Den ...
hit in January 2020. Flooding was so bad, that one restaurant on the bank of the river collapsed into the floodwaters.
Economy
The river is used by the Borders Whisky Distillery at Hawick for cooling water and processed water. Historically, the river had many mills along its length, and the site of one in Hawick, at Cobel Cauld, is to be used with a reverse Archimedes Screw to generate hydroelectricity. The plan was approved in 2019, with an expected completion date of 2021. The plant is hoped to generate 300 megawatt hours per year; enough to power 100 homes.
Ecology
The river was designated as a
site of special scientific interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
in 2001. The designation applies to the full length of the river and other tributaries of the River Tweed. The Teviot is noted for its wildlife, including salmon,
otters
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the Rank (zoology), subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic animal, aquatic, or Marine ecology, marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae Family (biology), family, whi ...
,
lamprey
Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are a group of Agnatha, jawless fish comprising the order (biology), order Petromyzontiformes , sole order in the Class (biology), class Petromyzontida. The adult lamprey is characterize ...
and
forget-me-nots. The river is an important site for breeding grounds of the
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...
.
Tributaries
The principal tributaries of the Teviot are the Allan Water which enters its right bank at Newmill, the
Borthwick Water which enters its left bank between Branxholme and Hawick, the
Slitrig Water which enters via the right bank in Hawick itself,
the
Ale Water
The Ale Water is a tributary of the River Teviot, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It rises at Henwoodie Hill and flows through Alemoor Loch.
It meets the River Teviot, Teviot south of the village of Ancrum, and it runs through Ashkirk ...
entering via the left bank at Ancrum, the
Jed Water
The Jed Water is a river and a tributary of the River Teviot in the Borders region of Scotland.
In total the Jed Water is over long and it falls . It flows into the Teviot near Jedfoot Bridge () two miles north of Jedburgh. Jed Water rises f ...
on the right bank just downstream and the
Kale Water which enters on the right bank between
Crailing
Crailing is a village on the A698, in Teviotdale, 4m east of Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of ...
and Roxburgh.
See also
*
List of places in the Scottish Borders
''Map of places in the Scottish Borders compiled from this list'':See the list of places in Scotland for places in other counties.
This list of places in the Scottish Borders includes towns, villages, hamlet (place), hamlets, castles, golf courses ...
*
List of places in Scotland
This list of places in Scotland is a complete collection of lists of places in Scotland.
*List of burghs in Scotland
*List of census localities in Scotland
*List of islands of Scotland
**List of Shetland islands
**List of Orkney islands
**List o ...
References
External links
Flooding from 2016Building collapses into river in 2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teviot
Rivers of the Scottish Borders
Tributaries of the River Tweed
1Teviot