The Tay rises in the Highlands
and flows down into the centre of Scotland through
Perth and Dundee. It is the longest river in
Scotland and the seventh longest in the UK.
Rising at over 1000 feet (300
m) at Loch Spey in Corrieyairack Forest in the
Scottish Highlands, 10 miles (16 km) south of Fort
Augustus, it descends to flow through Newtonmore and
Kingussie crossing Loch Insh before reaching
Aviemore at the start of Strathspey. From there it
flows the remaining 60 miles (97 km) north-east to
the Moray Firth, reaching the sea 5 miles West of
Buckie.
The Clyde is formed by the
confluence of two streams, the Daer Water (the
headwaters of which are dammed to form the Daer
Reservoir) and the Potrail Water. They meet at
Watermeetings to form the River Clyde proper.
From there it snakes northeastward before turning to
the west until it reaches the town of Lanark. It
turns northwest, before it is joined by the River
Avon and flows into the West of Scotland
conurbation. Between the towns of Motherwell and
Hamilton the course of the river has been altered to
create the artificial loch within Strathclyde Park.
Part of the original course can still be seen, and
lies between the island and the east shore of the
loch. The river then flows through Blantyre and
Bothwell, where the ruined Bothwell Castle stands on
a defensible promontory.
Past Uddingston and into the southeast of Glasgow
the river begins to widen, meandering a course
through Rutherglen and Dalmarnock. Flowing past
Glasgow Green, the river is artificially
straightened and widened through the centre, and
although a footbridge now hinders access to the
traditional Broomielaw, seagoing ships can still
come upriver as far as Finnieston where the PS
Waverley docks. From there, it flows past the
shipbuilding heartlands, through Govan, Partick,
Whiteinch, Scotstoun and Clydebank, all of which
once housed major shipyards. The river flows out
west of Glasgow, past Renfrew, and under the Erskine
Bridge past Dumbarton on the north shore to the
sandbank at Ardmore Point between Cardross and
Helensburgh. Opposite, on the south shore, the river
continues past the last Lower Clyde shipyard at Port
Glasgow to Greenock where it reaches the Tail of the
Bank as the river merges into the Firth of Clyde.
There are around 72 bridges (rail, road, foot and
other) that cross the Clyde, from estuary to source
The River Tweed (Scottish
Gaelic: Abhainn Thuaidh) is 97 miles (156 km) long
and flows primarily through the Borders region of
England and Scotland. It rises on Tweedsmuir at
Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining
northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise.
Major towns through which the Tweed flows include
Peebles, Galashiels, Melrose, Kelso, Coldstream and
Berwick-upon-Tweed, where it flows into the North
Sea.
The River Dee (Scottish
Gaelic: Uisge Dè) is a river in Aberdeenshire. It
rises in the Cairngorms (at approximately 4000 feet
in elevation on the plateau of Braeriach, the
highest source of any major river in the British
Isles ) and flows through Strathdee (Deeside) to
reach the North Sea at Aberdeen.
River Dee at Ballater,
Royal Deeside, North East Scotland
The River Don is in the
northeast of Scotland. It rises in the Grampians and
flows eastwards, through Aberdeenshire, to the North
Sea at Aberdeen. The Don passes through Alford,
Kemnay, Inverurie, Kintore, and Dyce. Its main
tributary, the River Urie, joins at Inverurie.
The River Nith (Scottish
Gaelic: Abhainn Nid) is the seventh longest river in
Scotland. It rises in East Ayrshire in the
Carsphairn hills, and for the majority of its course
flows through Dumfries and Galloway, before spilling
into the Solway Firth at Dumfries. The territory
through which the river flows is called Nithsdale
(historically known as "Stranit" from Scottish
Gaelic: Strath Nid, "valley of the Nith").
The River Forth (Gaelic: Uisge
For or Abhainn Dhubh, meaning "black river"), 47 km
(29 miles) long, is the major river draining the
eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.
The Forth rises in Loch Ard in the Trossachs, a
mountainous area some 30 km (19 miles) west of
Stirling. It flows roughly eastward, through
Aberfoyle, joining with the Duchray Water and Kelty
Water, and out over the flat expanse of the Flanders
Moss. It is then joined by the River Teith (which
itself drains Loch Venachar, Loch Lubnaig, Loch
Katrine, and Loch Voil) and the River Allan, before
meandering through the ancient city of Stirling. At
Stirling the river widens and becomes tidal, and it
is here that the last (seasonal) ford of the river
exists. From Stirling, the Forth flows east over the
Carse of Stirling and past the towns of Cambus
(where it is joined by the river Devon), Alloa and
Airth. Upon reaching Kincardine the river begins to
widen into an estuary, the Firth of Forth.
Forth Road Bridge over the River Firth
of Forth Edinburgh
The River Findhorn (Scottish
Gaelic: Uisge Eireann) is one of the longest rivers
in Scotland. Located in the north east, it flows
into the Moray Firth on the north coast. It has one
of the largest non-firth estuaries in Scotland.
The river has its source in
the Ladder Hills between Glenbuchat and the Cabrach,
part of the Grampian range. It begins as a small
highland stream among peaty and heather covered
country before leaving the hills and entering the
rolling lowlands of fertile farmland. The two main
streams in its upper course are the Alt Deveron and
the Black Water. Some 17 miles downstream from the
river's source, the river passes through the town of
Huntly, where it is joined by its tributary, the
River Bogie.
The name Deveron is derived from the Gaelic word
da-abluinn, meaning double river, a reference to its
two main streams. The Deveron is "the dark-rolling
stream Duvranna" of James Macpherson's Ossian.
Four miles further downstream the Deveron's second
tributary, the River Isla flows in from the
northwest. From this point on the Deveron becomes a
mature river, pursuing a winding course through
Turriff and finally flowing into the Moray Firth
between the twin towns of Banff and Macduff.
The River Annan (Uisge Annan
in Gaelic) is a river in southwest Scotland. It
rises at the foot of Hart Fell, five miles north of
Moffat. A second fork rises on Annanhead Hill and
flows through the Devil's Beef Tub before joining at
the Hart Fell fork north of Moffat.
From there it flows past the town of Lockerbie, and
to the sea in the fishing town of Annan. It is one
of the region's foremost fishing rivers, despite
being used for many years by Chapelcross nuclear
power station which extracted water for cooling
purposes, but in any case is now being
decommissioned. The main fish found - and hence the
target of anglers - are salmon and sea trout, brown
trout, grayling and chub, with a few others such as
pike.
River Annan
See copying awe
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