Lugar Water

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Lugar Water
River Lugar
River confluence - geograph.org.uk - 1496366.jpg
The point at which Bellow Water (on the left) meets Glenmuir Water, forming Lugar Water.
Native nameUisge Lugar (Scottish Gaelic)
Location
Country Scotland
Region Ayrshire
District East Ayrshire
Towns Lugar, Cumnock, Ochiltree
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationSouthern Uplands, East Ayrshire, Scotland
Mouth River Ayr
 • coordinates
 55°29′51″N4°23′10″W / 55.49763°N 4.38622°W / 55.49763; -4.38622
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • left Glaisnock Water, Burnock Water, Rose Burn
 • rightDippol Burn, Auchinleck Burn

The Lugar Water, or River Lugar, is created by the confluence of the Bellow Water and the Glenmuir Water, just north of Lugar, both of which flow from the hills of the Southern Uplands in East Ayrshire, Scotland. [1]

Contents

Course

Source to Cumnock

The river flows through the small mining village of Lugar, where at Bellow Mill, William Murdoch, the inventor of gas lighting was born in 1754. A cave where he carried out a lot of his experiments can still be seen on the riverbank. The river then flows on through the town of Cumnock, under the Woodroad Viaduct, where its water was used in earlier times to power grain mills and where it is joined by Glaisnock Water. [1]

Cumnock to Ochiltree

West of Cumnock the river continues its journey through Dumfries Estate, formerly owned by the Marquess of Bute. In July 2007 a consortium led by Charles III (then the Prince of Wales) succeeded in purchasing the house, contents and estate. The estate was then managed under the auspices of his Dumfries House Trust, and since 2018 The Prince's Foundation.

Close to Dumfries House the river flows beneath the Avenue Bridge, [2] designed by John Adam. who also designed and built Dumfries House. A few yards downstream the Lugar flows beneath an elegant Chinese footbridge built in 2017. [3]

Continuing west the river reaches the village of Ochiltree, where it is joined by the Burnock Water and its waters are harnessed by a weir which drove the local grain mills in days gone by. Here Atlantic salmon have been seen jumping the fish ladder, which allows them to reach their spawning grounds in the upper reaches of the river. The river also holds a good stock of the native brown trout, and these are fished for by anglers of all ages.

Lower Reaches

Lugar Water near Wallace's Cave Lugar Water near Wallace's Cave - geograph.org.uk - 914080.jpg
Lugar Water near Wallace's Cave

The river now enters a gorge of red sandstone with high cliffs on either side. High on one of these cliffs stand the ruins of Ochiltree Castle and beneath this can be found Wallace's Cave, where William Wallace allegedly hid from his pursuers. [1]

The Lugar now reaches the end of its journey of some twenty miles. Two miles south of Mauchline the Lugar joins the River Ayr, which carries its waters to the sea. [1]

Wildlife

Kingfishers and dippers are two of the avian species to be found on its riverbanks, along with yellow and pied wagtails, chaffinch, goldfinch and the tiny wren.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Ayrshire</span> Council area of Scotland

East Ayrshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Road, Kilmarnock. With South Ayrshire and the mainland areas of North Ayrshire, it formed the former county of Ayrshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumnock</span> Town and former civil parish in Scotland

Cumnock is a town and former civil parish located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. There are three neighbouring housing projects which lie just outside the town boundaries, Craigens, Logan and Netherthird, with the former ironworks settlement of Lugar also just outside the town, contributing to a population of around 13,000 in the immediate locale. A new housing development, Knockroon, was granted planning permission on 9 December 2009 by East Ayrshire Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Dove, central England</span> River in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Ayr</span> River in Scotland

The River Ayr is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland. At 65 km (40 mi) it is the longest river in the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ochiltree</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Ochiltree is a conservation village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire, with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers. A cinerary urn was found in 1955 during excavation for a new housing estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Garnock</span> River in Scotland

The River Garnock, the smallest of Ayrshire's six principal rivers, has its source on the southerly side of the Hill of Stake in the heart of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. About a mile and a half south of this starting point the untested stream tumbles over the Spout of Garnock, the highest waterfall in Ayrshire, once thought to be the river's origin. The river then continues, for a total length of 20 miles (32 km) or so, through the towns of Kilbirnie, Glengarnock, Dalry and Kilwinning to its confluence with the River Irvine at Irvine Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Irvine</span> River in southwest Scotland

The River Irvine is a river that flows through southwest Scotland. Its watershed is on the Lanarkshire border of Ayrshire at an altitude of 810 feet (250 m) above sea-level, near Loudoun Hill, Drumclog, and 7 miles SW by W of Strathaven. It flows 29+1⁄2 mi (47.5 km) westward, dividing the old district of Cunninghame from that of Kyle, until it reaches the sea via Irvine Harbour in the form of the Firth of Clyde, and flows into Irvine Bay by the town of Irvine. It has many tributaries, some of which form parish, district and other boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lugar, East Ayrshire</span>

Lugar is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. Lugar is in Auchinleck Parish, Kyle District, Ayrshire. It is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) ENE of Cumnock, and about 1-mile (1.6 km) from Cronberry and 2 miles (3.2 km) from Gaswater. Lugar was a station on the Mauchline and Muirkirk branch of the Glasgow and South Western Railway. Lugar is about 16.5 miles (26.6 km) SE of Kilmarnock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleeves Cove</span> Geological feature in Scotland

Cleeves Cove or Blair Cove is a solutional cave system on the Dusk Water in North Ayrshire, Scotland, close to the town of Dalry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terringzean Castle, East Ayrshire</span>

Terringzean Castle, also Taringzean, pronounced 'Tringan', is a Category B listed castle ruin lying above the River Lugar and the Terringzean Holm in the policies of Dumfries House, Parish of Cumnock, Scotland. The name Craufordstone or Craufurdstoun, has also been used, echoing that it and these lands originally belonged to the Crawfords, as did Lefnoreis Castle or Lochnorris Castle which once stood near the site of the Dumfries House stables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Loch (New Cumnock)</span> Freshwater loch in East Ayrshire, Scotland

Black Loch is a freshwater loch, named from its dark waters, situated in the East Ayrshire Council Area, between Cumnock and New Cumnock, lying in a glacial Kettle Hole mainly within the Parish of New Cumnock, with a small portion protruding into Old Cumnock Parish. It is said to be one of only two lochs or lakes in the world that have outflows running to two separate destinations. The 'Runner' is a deep and broad ditch that was dug many years ago to link the three lochs of Lowes, Black, and Creoch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch o' th' Lowes (New Cumnock)</span> Freshwater loch in East Ayrshire, Scotland

Loch o' th' Lowes, Lochside or Meikle Creoch Loch is a freshwater loch in the Parish of New Cumnock in the East Ayrshire Council Area, Scotland. One of three linked lochs, it is overlooked by the A76 road and is located in a glacial kettle hole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glaisnock Water</span> River in Ayrshire, Scotland

The Glaisnock Water is a tributary of the Lugar Water in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It passes under the Glaisnock Viaduct. The source is located south of the town of Cumnock, through which it flows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lands of Borland, Barony of Cumnock</span> Human settlement in Scotland

The Lands of Borland or Boreland formed a castle and land holdings within the old Barony of Cumnock, East Ayrshire, Parish of Old Cumnock, Scotland. Lying two miles south of Cumnock the property was mainly held by a cadet branch of the Hamilton family from around 1400 before passing by marriage to the Montgomeries and others. For consistency the spelling 'Borland' will be used throughout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peden's Cave (Auchinbay)</span>

Peden's Cave is at least partly artificial and is set into a craggy outcrop of red sandstone rocks overlooking the River Lugar just below the farm of Auchinbay in East Ayrshire, Scotland, close to the town of Ochiltree. Traditionally it is said that this cave was used as a hiding place for Covenanters, including the famous Covenanter minister Alexander Peden in the 17th century, mainly during 'The Killing Time' of the 1680s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallace's Cave, Auchinleck</span>

Wallace's Cave in the Lugar Gorge at Auchinleck in the Parish of Auchinleck, East Ayrshire is an 18th-century grotto, contemporary with Dr Johnson's Summerhouse which is also located on the Auchinleck Estate. It shows superior workmanship and is possibly the enlargement of a pre-existing cave. The cave or grotto lies downstream of the confluence of the Dippol Burn with the River Lugar and is reached via a once well formed path; however access is now hazardous due to the condition of the cliff edge path and the vertical drop into the River Lugar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lefnoreis Castle</span>

The site of the old Lefnoreis Castle or Ward of Lochnorris lies about 100 yards north-west of the old stable block of Dumfries House in East Ayrshire, Parish of Old Cumnock, Scotland. The old castle stood on a natural rise overlooking the Lugar Water, built and held for many years by the Craufurd family. For consistency the spelling Craufurd will be used throughout and Lefnoreis for the castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murdoch's Cave</span>

Murdoch's Cave, is a relatively small artificial cave created by William Murdoch (1754-1839) and his siblings in the soft red sandstone Lugar river bank cliff just upstream of the old Bellow Mill close to the confluence of the Bellow or Bello Water and the Glenmuir Water in Lugar, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The spelling 'Bellow' is used for consistency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenmuir Water</span> River in Scotland

The Glenmuir Water is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland.The river rises high in the hills south of Muirkirk. On reaching Lugar the Glenmuir is joined by the Bellow Water and is renamed the Lugar Water. Ayrshire Rivers TrustArchived 7 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine monitor water quality for the river and visit annually.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ordnance Survey (2014). Lanark & Upper Nithsdale (Map). OS Landranger Map Series. Ordnance Survey. ISBN   9780319229712.
  2. ↑ "Dumfries House".
  3. ↑ "Dumfries House".

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