Avon Water

The Avon Water, also called the River Avon, is a 39-kilometre river in Scotland. It rises near the head of the Irvine Water on the border between East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The river flows north-east past Drumclog and south of Strathaven into a deeper valley. Between Glassford and Stonehouse it meets the smaller Cander Water south of Larkhall. The river then cuts through a gorge where the disused Larkhall railway viaduct, built in 1904, still stands.

The gorge forms part of Chatelherault Country Park south of Hamilton. Public footpaths run along the gorge, once private hunting grounds of the Duke of Hamilton. Remains from that time include the Duke’s Bridge and the ruins of Cadzow Castle, begun in the 13th century. Among the ancient trees are the Cadzow Oaks, some over 600 years old. At the gorge’s end the river bends east between Barncluith and Ferniegair.

Three listed stone bridges cross the river here: a railway viaduct carrying the Argyle Line, a single-arch road bridge on the A72, and the Old Avon Bridge now used as a footbridge. The Avon Water passes under the M74 motorway before joining the River Clyde between Hamilton and Motherwell.