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The River Devon (formerly Dovan, ) 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 Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic name for the ...
in
Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...
and Perth & Kinross,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
.


Geography and hydrology

The source of the river is Blairdenon Hill in the Ochils 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 Crook of Devon is a village within the parish of Fossoway in Kinross-shire about west of Kinross on the A977 road. Its name derives from the nearly 180-degree turn, from generally eastwards to generally westwards and resembling the shape of ...
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 Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic name for the ...
to the west of
Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , 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 where some say it ceases to ...
at the small village of Cambus. The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, (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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and are used for trout fishing.


History and culture

During the
Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Fr ...
, 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, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. French troops arrived in Scotland by invitation in 1548. In 1560 the French soldiers opposed Scottish supporter ...
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 James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was f ...
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 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...
. 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 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
, which recall Charlotte Hamilton of Mauchline whom he had met at nearby Harviestoun estate. The Devon Valley 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 also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
1Devon Tributaries of the River Forth