Douglas Water Downstream of Douglasmouth Bridge - geograph

The Douglas Water () is a river in

South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...

of south-central

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 is a tributary of the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

Etymology

The river's name comes from the

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

''dubh-ghlas'' or Brittonic ''dūβ-*glẹiss'', both meaning either "black water" or "black stream".

Course

The course of the Douglas Water is entirely within the South Lanarkshire council area. The river rises in the hills which separate

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

from

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

, to the south west of Muirkirk. The source is close to that of the

River Ayr The River Ayr (pronounced like ''air'', ''Uisge Àir'' in Gaelic) is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland. At it is the longest river in the county. The river was held as sacred by pre-Christian cultures. The remains of several prehistoric sacrificial ...

, which flows west to the sea, but the Douglas Water runs north-east then east, past Glespin and into Douglasdale. Here the river flows through the village of Douglas, and past the scant remains of

Douglas Castle Douglas Castle was a stronghold of the Douglas (later Douglas-Home) family from medieval times to the 20th century. The first castle, erected in the 13th century, was destroyed and replaced several times until the 18th century when a large man ...

. The castle was a stronghold of the House of Douglas, a powerful medieval family who took their surname from the river. The A70 road follows the river through Douglasdale, and on to the Clyde. East of Douglas, the river passes under the

M74 motorway The A74(M) and M74 form a major motorway in Scotland, connecting it to England. The routes connect the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway in central Glasgow to the Scottish-English Anglo-Scottish border, border at Gretna, Scotland, Gretna. T ...

, just south of the Happendon services, and turns toward the north-east again. Below the village of Rigside, the smaller Poniel Burn flows into the Douglas Water. Beyond this confluence is the small village of Douglas Water. A dismantled railway line runs between the river and the A70 for the remaining of its course. The Douglas Water flows into the Clyde around south of

Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...

References

{{authority control Rivers of South Lanarkshire River Clyde

Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...