River Dee

The River Dee rises in the Galloway Hills at Loch Dee and flows through Clatteringshaws Loch and Loch Ken before reaching Kirkcudbright Bay. Its total length is just over 38 miles, with a catchment area covering more than 400 square miles. In the 2nd century, Ptolemy recorded the river as Dēoúa, linking it to an ancient Indo-European word for a goddess. The river is dammed at Tongland as part of the Galloway hydro-electric scheme from the 1930s. Thomas Telford’s 1806 bridge spans the Dee at this point. Nearby, Threave Castle stands on an island in the lower reaches of the river. The Dee Marshes and Loch Ken form a Ramsar site designated in 1992. The Tarff Water, a right-bank tributary, joins the Dee near Tongland after draining land between Laurieston and Ringford. The river’s dark stretch above Loch Ken earned it the name Black Water of Dee.