The River Annan (''Abhainn Anann'' in Gaelic) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

in south-west

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 ...

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

Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now 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 tow ...

and

Lockerbie Lockerbie (, gd, Locarbaidh) is a small town in Dumfries and Galloway, south-western Scotland. It is about from Glasgow, and from the border with England. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town came to international atte ...

, reaching the sea at

Annan, Dumfries and Galloway Annan ( ; gd, Inbhir Anainn) 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 ...

after about 40 miles.

Name

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

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

", from a

Celtic language The Celtic languages ( usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...

. 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 (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. ...

, 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 obtaine ...

( 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 ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotla ...

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

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 bes ...

. 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. Portland band the Decemberists recorded a song entitled ''Annan Water'' on their 2009 "folk opera" concept album, ''The Hazards of Love''. (Capitol records/Rough Trade records)

Name

Description

Popular culture

See also

Notes

References

Further reading