The Black Devon is a river in

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 ...

. It rises in the Cleish Hills, specifically the area known as Outh Muir, north of

Knockhill Racing Circuit Knockhill Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Fife, Scotland. It opened in September 1974 and is Scotland's national motorsport centre. The circuit is in the countryside about north of Dunfermline. It is the only Fédération Interna ...

, around north-west of

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, with the gathering of three small streams in branch formation. The river flows westwards through Balgonar, north of Saline, and then merges with the Saline Burn. The Black Devon flows into

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...

, through the hamlet of Forestmill and past the town of

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; , perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. The town is within ...

. The Black Devon enters the

River Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic name for the ...

south of

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...

, north of Dunmore Pier. It is a narrow and shallow river that holds wild

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

, and also sees

sea trout Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are bull trout, sewin (Wales ...

in winter months that come into the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

, which is tidal as far as

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

. The

Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland The Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (RAFTS) (also known as the Association of Scottish River & Fishery Management Trusts) is a waterway society, an unincorporated association, a Scottish Charitable organization, charity, and an umbrell ...

manage the River Forth and its tributary rivers, which besides the Black Devon include the River Devon, River Teith, and

River Allan The Allan Water () is a river in central Scotland. Rising in the Ochil Hills, it runs through Strathallan to Dunblane and Bridge of Allan before joining the River Forth. It is liable to cause floods in lower Bridge of Allan. It shares its n ...

Disappearance

In June 1952 the last two miles of the Black Devon disappeared into old coal mine workings. These eventually filled with a mixture of fresh and salt water, the river being tidal at the point where the collapse into the mine workings occurred.

Wetland scheme

Coal mining over a long period of time, from probably at least three collieries working different strata, had caused significant subsidence around the lower reaches of the Black Devon and its confluence with the River Forth. There was also concern about the effects of rising sea levels generally. The area between the west bank of the Black Devon and the Forth had subsided considerably and had been useful for landfill, however modern environmental considerations meant that this had to cease. Accordingly, a scheme was devised to create a wetland area.

Gartmorn Dam

Gartmorn Dam Gartmorn Dam is an artificial freshwater loch north-east of Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, UK, built in 1711–12 as a reservoir to supply water to hydraulic machines used in Alloa's mining industry. It was commissioned by John Erskine, 23rd ...

is a reservoir which was initially designed and built in 1712 by

George Sorocold George Sorocold ( – c. 1738) was an English civil engineer notable for pioneering work on water supplies and hydraulic power systems around Great Britain. Biography Sorocold was born in Lancashire in 1666, the son of James Sorocold and El ...

for

John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1675–1732) John Erskine, 23rd and 6th Earl of Mar and 1st Duke of Mar Order of the Thistle, KT (1675 – May 1732), was a Scotland, Scottish nobleman and a key figure in the Jacobitism, Jacobite movement. He held the title of the 23rd Earl of Mar from th ...

, and later upgraded several times by others, to provide water power for the pumps which drained his collieries in

. Gartmorn Dam does not lie on the Black Devon, but is fed from it by a

lade Líneas Aéreas del Estado (LADE, ) is an airline based in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina. It is owned by the government of Argentina and operated by the Argentine Air Force. It provides domestic scheduled services, mainly in Patagonia. Hist ...

originating at a

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

in the Black Devon just above Forestmill. Today Gartmorn Dam is used for leisure activities. The weir and lade remain in good condition. In 2013, Scottish Water spent £440,000 to maintain the dam headwall and improve emergency water level reduction systems.

Other industries

The 1956 inch OS map
1956 2 1/2 inch OS map shows weirs and the Linn Mill, traces of which still exist, at NS 926930 and further downstream a woollen mill, now obliterated by a housing estate, at NS 914923, apparently worked by water power.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Clackmannanshire Rivers of Fife 1BlackDevon