Avon Water
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(October 2013) |
| Avon Water | |
|---|---|
 The Avon Water inChatelherault Country Park,Hamilton. | |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom,Scotland |
| Region | South Lanarkshire |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Distinkhorn Hill[1] |
| Mouth | |
• location | Hamilton |
| Length | 39 km (24 mi) |
Avon Water,also known locally as theRiver Avon,is a 24-mile-long (39 km)riverinScotland,and atributaryof theRiver Clyde.
Course
[edit]The Avon Water rises in the hills on the boundary betweenEast AyrshireandSouth Lanarkshire,close to the head of theIrvine Water.The river flows in a north easterly direction, following theA71 roadpastDrumclog,and running to the south ofStrathaven,where the river enters a more pronounced valley. The Avon flows between the village ofGlassford,andStonehouseto the south, before merging with the smaller Cander Water just south ofLarkhall.The river then skirts the west side of Larkhall in a deepening gorge, crossed by the disused Larkhall railway viaduct, built in 1904 for theCaledonian Railway.[2][3]
Beyond this the gorge is part ofChatelherault Country Park,to the south ofHamilton.There are several public footpaths along this section of the gorge, although the area was once the preserve of theDuke of Hamilton,forming the hunting and pleasure grounds of the Dukes' former home,Hamilton Palace.Many features of this period remain in the park, including the Duke's Bridge which crosses the gorge. Older structures along the gorge include the ruins ofCadzow Castle,started in the 13th century, and the Cadzow Oaks, a group ofoaktrees, some of which are over 600 years old.
The river bends to the east at the end of the gorge between the villages ofBarncluithandFerniegair,flowing beneath threelistedstone bridges: a viaduct carrying theArgyle Linerailway tracks,a single-arch bridgecarrying theA72 road,and theOld Avon Bridge,now a footbridge. The Avon Water flows north beneath theM74 motorway,merging into the Clyde between Hamilton andMotherwell,beside Junction 6 of the M74.
Etymology
[edit]The nameAvonis derived from theBrittonic*āβonā-(fromāβ,"moving water", with the suffix–onā-),[4]the word ancestral toWelshafon,meaning "a river".[4]
References
[edit]- ^"Avon Water".Gazetteer for Scotland.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^McQuillan, Rebecca (6 April 2013)."Life after Beeching".Sunday Herald.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Larkhall Viaduct".Gazetteer for Scotland.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^abJames, Alan."A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence"(PDF).SPNS - The Brittonic Language in the Old North.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 13 August 2017.Retrieved25 November2018.
History of Avon Water and the town of Hamilton written by Garry L McCallum at Historic Hamilton Historic-Hamilton.co.uk
External links
[edit]
Media related toAvon Water, East Ayrshireat Wikimedia Commons
