![The Black Devon - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/The_Black_Devon_-_geograph.org.uk_-_340188.jpg)
The Black Devon is a river in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. 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 located in the countryside about north of Dunfermline. It is the only FIA approved ...
, around north-west of
Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...
,
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
, 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 (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the hi ...
, through the hamlet of
Forestmill Forestmill (or Forest Mill) is a small hamlet in the county of Clackmannanshire, Scotland. It is situated on the A977 road between Kincardine and Kinross, about 3 miles from the Kincardine end.
The Black Devon river runs through it towards the ...
and past the town of
Clackmannan
Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, 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. Th ...
. 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 Gaelic name for the upper reach of th ...
south of
Alloa
Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, 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 ...
, north of
Dunmore Pier.
It is a narrow and shallow river that holds wild
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
, and also sees
sea trout in winter months that come into the
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...
, which is tidal as far as
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
. The
Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland manage the River Forth and its tributary rivers, which besides the Black Devon include the
River Devon,
River Teith
The River Teith is a river in Scotland, which is formed from the confluence of two smaller rivers, the '' Garbh Uisge'' (River Leny) and '' Eas Gobhain'' at Callander, Stirlingshire. It flows into the River Forth near Drip north-west of Stirlin ...
, and
River Allan.
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 lake 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 an ...
is a reservoir which was initially designed and built in 1712 by
George Sorocold
George Sorocold (c. 1668 – c. 1738) was an English civil engineer of the eighteenth century notable for pioneering work on water supplies and hydraulic power systems around Great Britain.
Biography
Sorocold was born in Lancashire in 1666, t ...
for
John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1675–1732)
John Erskine, 23rd and 6th Earl of Mar, KT (1675May 1732), was a Scottish Jacobite who was the eldest son of Charles, 22nd and 5th Earl of Mar (who died in 1689), from whom he inherited estates that were heavily loaded with debt. He was the ...
, and later upgraded several times by others, to provide water power for the pumps which drained his collieries in
Alloa
Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, 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 ...
. Gartmorn Dam does not lie on the Black Devon, but is fed from it by a
lade Lade may refer to:
People
* Brendon Lade (born 1976), an Australian rules footballer
* Sir John Lade (1759–1838), a baronet and Regency horse-breeder
* Heinrich Eduard von Lade (1817–1904), a German banker and amateur astronomer
* The Jarls o ...
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 river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
in the Black Devon just above
Forestmill Forestmill (or Forest Mill) is a small hamlet in the county of Clackmannanshire, Scotland. It is situated on the A977 road between Kincardine and Kinross, about 3 miles from the Kincardine end.
The Black Devon river runs through it towards the ...
.
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 2 1/2 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