The River Annan 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 ...

in south-west

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 on Annanhead Hill and flows through the Devil's Beef Tub,

Moffat Moffat is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire. Part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland, it lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. Moffat is arou ...

and

Lockerbie Lockerbie (, ) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, located in south-western Scotland. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town had an estimated population of in . The town came to international attention in December 1988 when ...

, reaching the sea at

Annan, Dumfries and Galloway Annan ( ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. Historically part of Dumfriesshire, its public buildings include Annan Academy, of which the writer Thomas Carlyle was a pupil, and a Georgian build ...

after about 40 miles.

Name

The etymology of the River Annan is unknown, although some sources suggest it may mean simply "

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 ...

", from a

Celtic language The Celtic languages ( ) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, descended from the hypothetical Proto-Celtic language. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yves ...

. It gave its name to Annandale, a former stewartry comprising a large portion of modern

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

, and to the port town of Annan near its mouth.

Description

The Annan rises on Annanhead Hill, five miles north of

, near the source of the

Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

( away), and also close to the source of the Clyde ( away). It then flows through the Devil's Beef Tub, where it is joined by a secondary source that rises on Hartfell. It then flows past the town of

and

. Two miles out of Moffat, it is joined by the Moffat Water flowing westward from Loch Skene and the Evan Water flowing eastward from the upper part of

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 ...

. Below this, it is joined by the Kinnel Water from the west and the

Dryfe Water Dryfe Water is a river in Scotland about 18 miles in length which flows into the River Annan at , near Lockerbie. It starts at on the southern slopes of Loch Fell, near Moffat, and then flows along a narrow valley to the Annan. Dryfe Water gives ...

from the east. It reaches the sea past the port of Annan. Newbie Harbour on the River Annan once served the Barony of Newbie and lay where the Old Mill Burn has its confluence with the river.

Popular culture

The Annan makes several appearances in folk songs from the Borders, and in most appears as a malevolent force, drowning those who try to cross it. One of the most well recorded is ''Annan Waters'' (Child 215). Versions of this song have been recorded by artists including

Nic Jones Nic Jones (born Nicolas Paul Jones; 9 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Regarded as a prominent figure of the British folk revival, he has recorded five solo albums and collaborated with various musicians. Biography ...

and

Kate Rusby Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the be ...

. In online comic '' Gunnerkrigg Court'', the ''Annan Waters'' are a river separating the Court from the Gillitie Forest, and mark the separation between technology/science and magic/nature.

The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals ...

recorded a song entitled "Annan Water" on their 2009 folk opera concept album '' The Hazards of Love''.

Name

Description

Popular culture

See also

Citations

References

Further reading