The North Esk ( gd, Easg Thuath) 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 Angus and

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

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 ...

. It is formed by the meeting of the Water of Mark (from

Glen Mark Glen Mark is a glen in northern Angus, eastern Scotland, through which the Water of Mark flows. Near the mouth of the glen, at Auchronie, the Water of Mark is joined by the Water of Lee from Loch Lee to become the River North Esk. This flows ...

) and the Water of Lee (from Loch Lee), and enters the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

four miles north of Montrose. It forms the boundary between Angus and Aberdeenshire at certain stages in its course. It was also noted in the 19th century as a good point for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

Tributaries

Downstream of the meeting of the headwaters referred to above, the River North Esk is joined by various other tributaries. The Water of Effock enters on its right side and then the Water of Tarf enters on its left bank at Tarfside. The West Water is a considerable right bank tributary which enters near

Stracathro Stracathro ( gd, Srath Catharach) is a small place in Angus, Scotland. It was the site of a Roman marching camp as their forces invaded to the north. Location Stracathro is located southeast of Edzell in north-east Angus. It lies to the north ...

in Strathmore. Its upper reaches are known as the Water of Saughs. The Luther Water is the last significant tributary of the North Esk; it enters on the left bank near North Water Bridge. The Luther Water drains the Howe of the Mearns.

Glen Esk

Villages

Tarfside

Tarfside Tarfside is a small hamlet in Angus, Scotland. It is situated in Glen Esk, on the upper course of the River North Esk, around 8 miles north of Edzell, and has a footpath to nearby Loch Lee. Tarfside is commonly seen as a very beautiful place f ...

is home to the

Glen Esk Folk Museum Glenesk Folk Museum is a museum located in the Glen Esk valley, in Tarfside, Angus, Scotland. It is about north of the village of Edzell. It is housed in a former shooting lodge, known as 'The Retreat', which used to belong to the Earls of Dal ...

. St Drostan's is the episcopal church built by

Lord Forbes Lord Forbes is the senior Lordship of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. The title was created sometime after 1436 for Alexander de Forbes, feudal baron of Forbes. The precise date of the creation is not known, but in a Precept dated July 1 ...

in 1880. Drostan had lived as a hermit in Glen Esk. St Andrews Lodge is the

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Lodge built in 1821 by

Lord Panmure Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie, (22 April 18016 July 1874), known as Fox Maule before 1852, as The Lord Panmure between 1852 and 1860, was a British politician. Ancestry Dalhousie was the eldest son of William Maule, 1st Baron Pan ...

. The Masons' Tower was built on the Modlach, a hill above the village in 1826.

Natural features

The Rocks of Solitude is a local beauty spot where the River North Esk flows through a narrow gorge in a series of waterfalls at the point where the river crosses the

Highland Boundary Fault The Highland Boundary Fault is a major fault zone that traverses Scotland from Arran and Helensburgh on the west coast to Stonehaven in the east. It separates two different geological terranes which give rise to two distinct physiographic terr ...

. There is a folktale that a Glen Esk piper was once kidnapped by

fairies A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

as he played near the river, and that his music can occasionally still be heard in the distance.

References

External links

{{authority control North Elk North Elk