The River Add ( gd, Abhainn Àd) is a river which runs through
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
on the West of
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 ...
. Historically, it was known as the river Airigh but to avoid confusion with the ''
Aray
Ara the Handsome ( hy, Արա Գեղեցիկ ''Ara Gełec‘ik'') is a semi-legendary Armenian hero and king. Ara is notable in Armenian literature for the popular legend in which he was so handsome that the Assyrian queen Semiramis waged war agai ...
'' (which gives its name to
Inveraray
Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Arg ...
), it was renamed the River Add''.
The surrounding valley still retains the name Glen Airigh, and The river gave rise to the name ''Glassary'' (''Glas Airigh''), by which the surrounding district of Glassary is known. In turn, this forms the second part of the name of Kilmichael Glassary, a village in the lower parts of the valley. Kilmichael Glassary is the home village of the founder of the
Campbells of Auchinbreck, a senior cadet branch of
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell ( gd, Na Caimbeulaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...
. The high
Marylyn of Beinn Dubh Airigh is situated on the northern edge Glen Airigh, separating it from
Glen Awe.
The river begins at Loch Sidheannach, which is fed from the nearby hills, including Loch nan Losgann, close to the peak of Beinn Dubh Airigh. After passing through a heavily wooded area it goes through a tall Concrete dam with a control centre and a fish ladder creating hydroelectricity for loch glashan then it is joined by several small tributaries.
It is joined by a tributary from the
Blackmill Loch
Blackmill Loch is an impounding reservoir, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The loch was constructed in 1964 and is one source of freshwater for the Lochgair Hydroelectric Scheme. The loch feeds the River Add, when not diverted for hydroelectric pu ...
, the
Feorlin
Feorlin is an impounding reservoir located 2 kilometres west of Minard. The loch is part of the Lochgair Hydroelectric Scheme. The rockfill dam is 4.19 metres high and was completed in 1964. When not diverted for hydroelectric purposes, the loc ...
reservoir and Abhainn Bheag an Tunns just before skirting the northern side of
Loch Glashan
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spel ...
(a much larger reservoir which feeds the lochgair power station.
From there, it passes through Kilmichael Glassary (Gleann Cill Mhicheil Glas-Airigh) and Allt Eas an Amhuinn (Bridgend River) which is one of the many tributaries feeding the Add, the river also meanders through the Bog fields on the
Mòine Mhòr Nature Reserve, then ends at
Loch Crinan
Loch Crinan is a seawater loch on the West of Scotland, leading into the Sound of Jura and being the western end of the Crinan Canal. The village of Crinan is at the entrance to the canal at the eastern end of the loch. Duntrune Castle stands o ...
by the hamlet of Bellanoch, where it is crossed by islandadd bridge an 1851 cast-iron bridge. Source Loch Sidheannach Mouth Atlantic Ocean and sea inlet loch Crinan.
Gazetteer for Scotland
Accessed August 5, 2012.
References
Rivers of Argyll and Bute
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