The River Esk ( Brythonic: Isca (water), ), also called the Lothian Esk, is a river that flows through

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

and

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

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 ...

. It initially runs as two separate rivers: the North Esk and the South Esk.

Route

The North Esk rises in the North Esk Reservoir in the Pentland Hills, in

, a mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Carlops. It flows north-east past Penicuik and Auchendinny, where it is joined by the Glencorse Burn, flowing in a south-easterly direction from the Glencorse Reservoir.Ordnance Survey, 1:25000 map The reservoir was built by the Edinburgh Water Company in the 1820s, to supply compensation water to millowners on the Esk when they started to take water from the Glencorse Burn for drinking water supplies. The river continues through Roslin Glen and the Penicuik–Dalkeith Walkway, past Hawthornden Castle,

Polton Polton is a village located in Lasswade parish, Midlothian, Scotland, anciently a superiority of the Ramsay family, cadets of Dalhousie. In 1618 David Ramsay of Polton was in possession. (See: ''Analecta Scotica'', Edinburgh, 1834). Notable res ...

, Lasswade and Melville Castle. The South Esk rises at the southernmost extremity of Midlothian, on the western slopes of Blackhope Scar (the highest of the Moorfoot Hills). It flows north through Gladhouse Reservoir and Rosebery Reservoir, and by the village of

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

, before receiving the Redside Burn close to Arniston House. It is joined by the Gore Water at Shank. The Dalhousie Burn joins just to the west of

Newtongrange Newtongrange () is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. Known in local dialect as ''Nitten'', or ''Nitten by the Bing (mining), Bing'' (), it became Scotland's largest mining village in the 1890s, with the sinking of the Lady Victor ...

. The South Esk passes Newbattle Abbey and proceeds through Dalkeith. The rivers converge just about north-east of Dalkeith at the edge of the grounds of Dalkeith Palace. From here the River Esk continues north for about , entering the

region, skirting Inveresk and flowing into the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

at Fisherrow (

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

Photo gallery

Image:Esk sign.jpg, River Esk signpost Image:Esk weir.jpg, River Esk weir Image:Esk fishing.jpg, River Esk angler Image:Esk bank erosion.jpg, River Esk bank erosion Image:Esk swans.jpg, River Esk swans Image:Esk Musselburgh1.jpg, River Esk, Musselburgh Image:Esk Rennie's Bridge.jpg, River Esk, Rennie's Bridge

Route

Photo gallery

Bibliography

References

See also