The River Doon ( gd, Abhainn Dhùin, ) is a river in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of R ...

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 th ...

. Its course is generally north-westerly, passing near to the town of

Dalmellington Dalmellington ( sco, Dawmellinton, gd, Dail M'Fhaolain) is a market town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In 2001 the village had a population of 1,407. The town owes its origins to the fault line separating the Southern Uplands of ...

, and through the villages of

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

, Dalrymple, and

Alloway Alloway ( gd, Allmhaigh, ) is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland, located on the River Doon. It is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns and the setting for his poem "Tam o' Shanter". Tobias Bachope, the mason responsible for the cons ...

, birthplace of

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 ha ...

. The source of the Doon is Loch Enoch, high in the Galloway Hills. In the 1930s the Loch Doon was dammed to provide water to the

Galloway Hydro Electric Scheme The Galloway hydro-electric power scheme is a network of dams and hydro-electric power stations in Galloway, south west Scotland. It was built between 1930 and 1936. The generating stations draw water from the River Ken, River Dee and River ...

, today operated by

Scottish Power Scottish Power is a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola. ScottishPower is the distribution network operator for Central and Southern Scotland, Merseyside, Nor ...

. The Doon is mentioned in Burns' classic narrative poem " Tam o' Shanter", along with the Brig o' Doon, which spans across the river, just outside Alloway. The river is also the major setting for his lesser-known poem "

The Banks O' Doon "The Banks O' Doon" (Modern Scots: ''The Banks o Doon'') is a Scots song written by Robert Burns in 1791, sometimes known as "Ye Banks and Braes" (after the opening line of the third version). Burns set the lyrics to an air called The Caledonian H ...

External links

River Doon
at the Ayrshire Rivers Trust Doon Doon {{Scotland-river-stub