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The River Devon (formerly Dovan, gd, Duibhe) is a tributary of 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 t ...
in
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 ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.


Geography and hydrology

The source of the river is Blairdenon Hill in the
Ochils The Ochil Hills (; gd, Monadh Ochail is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Kinross, Auchterarder and Perth. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/ Gle ...
at an altitude of . Upper areas have been dammed, creating Upper Glendevon, Lower Glendevon and Castlehill reservoirs. The Devon then flows east and southeast through Glendevon, turning southwest at Crook of Devon and then continuing westwards, meandering across its flood plain along the foot of the Ochil Hills. It reaches 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 t ...
to the west 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 wher ...
at the small village of Cambus. The UK
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) is a centre for excellence in environmental science across water, land and air. The organisation has a long history of investigating, monitoring and modelling environmental change, and its science ma ...
, (part of UK's Natural Environment Research Council, NERC) describes the catchment area thus: "Headwaters are steep; lower valley is broad and very flat. Bedrock extrusive igneous rocks, 50% overlain by superficial deposits. Land use arable in the valley; grassland in headwaters, some forest." The catchment covers an area of 181 km2.


Glen Devon

Glen Devon stretches from the junction of the river Devon with the dramatic Glen Eagles (a perfect U-valley) southwards to the Yetts of Muckhart where the landscape then opens into a wide flood plain. The natural landscape was greatly altered by the construction of the Castlehill Reservoir which was built around 1975. The central village, Glendevon, lies north of the reservoir, and has for 70 years been a holiday destination for holiday cabins. Glen Devon Castle was largely destroyed by fire c.1970. Its arched entranceway still exists at the north end of the reservoir. The village contains the old coach hostelry, The Tormaukin, which still survives as a restaurant. The church and manse lie north of the main village. An 18th century bridge crosses the Devon to the south of the church. The high level reservoirs are named Glenquey, Glensherup, after the Devon's high level tributaries, and upper and lower Frandy reservoir. All were built by German PoWs in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
and are used for trout fishing.


History and culture

During the
Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterian in its outlook. It was part of the wider European Protestant Refor ...
, William Kirkcaldy destroyed the bridge at Tullibody in attempt to prevent French troops retreating to the
Siege of Leith The siege of Leith ended a twelve-year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Scotland. The French troops arrived by invitation in 1548 and left in 1560 after an English force arrived to attempt to assist in removing the ...
at the end of January 1560. However, the French took down the roof of Tullibody Kirk to bridge the Devon. The Devon was surveyed by James Watt in 1766, who claimed that by deepening the river bed it might be navigable as far as
Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, ...
. The estimated cost of such a project was £2000. Two songs ''The Banks of the Devon'' and ''Fairest Maid on Devon Banks'' were written in 1787 by
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...
, which recall Charlotte Hamilton of
Mauchline Mauchline (; gd, Maghlinn) is a town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In the 2001 census Mauchline had a recorded population of 4,105. It is home to the National Burns Memorial. Location The town lies by the Glasgow and South West ...
whom he had met at nearby
Harviestoun Harviestoun is an estate in Tillicoultry parish, Clackmannanshire, central Scotland. It lies at the base of the Ochil Hills, around east of Tillicoultry and west of Dollar. History The Harviestoun estate was bought in around 1780 by Edinburg ...
estate. The
Devon Valley Railway The Devon Valley Railway linked Alloa and Kinross in central Scotland, along a route following the valley of the River Devon. Its construction took 20 years from the first section opening in 1851, to the final section in 1871. Three railway ...
was built along the strath.


Flooding

Clackmannanshire Council has recognised the threat of flooding along the Devon and has worked to address the issue on its own account and in partnership with others, including WWF-Scotland. Works undertaken on the Devon catchment include willow walling, riverside woodland and the blocking of wetland drains. In January 2008 the Devon catchment area was 'Very Wet'. Land became saturated and rainfall resulted in run-off into rivers, reaching the river system very quickly. River flows in the region were 'Exceptionally High'. Upstream, all the Ochil reservoirs were full with Castlehill reservoir overflowing for all of that month. The flood at the upstream gauge at Castlehill was the second highest recorded. Further downstream, the water level recorded at Glenochil was the highest since records began in 1956. Over the period of 25–26 January 2008, residential and commercial properties in part of
Tillicoultry Tillicoultry ( ; Scottish Gaelic: Tulach Cultraidh, perhaps from older Gaelic ''Tullich-cul-tir'', or "the mount/hill at the back of the country") is a town in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Tillicoultry is usually referred to as Tilly by the loc ...
were inundated. The extent of flooding was greater than had been experienced in the past and the Council appointed specialist hydrological consultants to investigate the contributory factors and advise on measures available to minimise or eliminate any future occurrence. In November 2008 and again in November 2009 extensive flooding occurred in the Hillfoots making several road bridges across the river impassable. No houses were damaged on those two occasions. River level data at Glenochil gauging station (hourly, automatic) are now available from SEPA on-line.


References


External links


"Forth District Salmon Fishery Board"

"River Forth Fisheries Trust" WWF Scotland’s natural flood management demonstration siteSEPA Indicative River & Coastal Flood Map - TillicoultrySEPA Indicative River & Coastal Flood Map - AlvaSEPA Indicative River & Coastal Flood Map - Menstrie
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Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
1Devon Tributaries of the River Forth