37-665: The Lugton Water , the largest tributary of the River Garnock , runs 14 miles (23 km) from Loch Libo (395 feet above sea-level) in Uplawmoor , through Lugton and the parishes of Neilston, Beith, Dunlop, Stewarton and Kilwinning. The Lugton joins the Garnock below the tidal limit, shortly after passing through Eglinton Country Park , developed around the ancient estate of the Earl of Eglinton. Timothy Pont refers to it as
74-524: A 'polish' and was used extensively for window and door surrounds. Geilsland House is part of Geilsland school, run by the Church of Scotland under its 'Crossreach' initiative. The name is pronounced 'Jillsland' locally. The origin of the name may refer to a gil or gyll, referring to a cleft or ravine as found at the 'Fairy Glen' where the Powgree Burn cuts through the fields. Geilsland school , run by
111-402: A 1654 map, was the home to the mother, Janet Pollock, of Robert Tannahill the 'Weaver Poet'. The underlying geology of this part of Ayrshire is such that the presence of limestone quarries is to be expected. Lime kilns to produce quicklime for improving the soil, were a common feature of the countryside before the process became fully industrialised. Nettlehirst near Barrmill was one of
148-474: A Nature Conservation Site, and enters the Garnock near its namesake Pitcon House . The Rye Water drains from the area of Muirhead Reservoir and Camphill Reservoir and runs through the old village of Drakemyre to join the Garnock north of Dalry near Brownhill Junction on the main railway line . A ford across the river at Drakemyre is associated with the song " Comin' Thro' the Rye ". The Putyan Burn forms from
185-517: A bar-built estuary in the UK and is the only major estuary between the Solway and Inner Clyde . The majority of the estuary has been designated a SSSI , in recognition of its national importance for three bird species eider , red-breasted merganser and goldeneye ). It is also a nationally important feeding ground for thousands of migrating birds during the spring and autumn. Otters and water voles live on
222-592: A canal serving early coal pits at Ardeer that the small lochans used to ease construction lay on the old course of the River Garnock. It is recorded in official documents of the 1770 "Trial of Mungo Campbell for the Murder of Alexander, Earl of Eglinton" that Alexander Montgomery, 10th Earl of Eglinton was very protective of his fishing rights on the River Garmock to the extent that he banned fishing on
259-412: A curse on the river, preventing it from ever having fish in its waters; the river responded by changing course and thereby avoiding the curse. It is clear that the river has substantially changed its course in recorded history, previously having entered the sea at Stevenston. Ardeer therefore being an island at that time. Blaeu's map printed in 1654 shows this. It was also noted during the construction of
296-520: A low outcrop, and is mostly an artificial work. It pre-dates the channelling of the Boghall Burn which detours around it, the mound was probably isolated in this once marshy outflow of the former Boghall Loch (see NS35SE 14). Hill of Beith Castle , a square tower castle, once held by the Cunninghame family, stood near to the moot hill. Loch Brand or Bran was the name by which Boghall Loch
333-635: A number of small burns, etc., such as the Baidland Burn from Baidland Hill and springs at Baidland Mill. It reaches its confluence with the Garnock at Putyan Cottage and the Lynn Holm, near the road junction for Ardrossan at the Kilwinning end of the town. It passes Broadlie House where a small weir or dam still exists as part of an abandoned 1892 hydroelectric scheme which provided the house with its own electricity. The burn has its confluence with
370-591: A public park used by the Gateside and Beith communities. The Isabel Patrick Memorial Hall is a building in the Gothic style . Trearne House stood near Gateside, but it was demolished and the site is now a large worked out limestone quarry . A field behind the primary school was given to the community by the Marshall family who were the village blacksmiths for many years. The meaning of Powgree, Gateside's burn,
407-424: A safety valve. For about five hours great volumes of water and sand were thrown up into the air like fountains and the mining villages of Bartonholm, Snodgrass, Longford and Nethermains were flooded. Archibald William, the enterprising 13th Earl of Eglinton purchased all the lands concerned in 1852 and through the simple expedient of cutting a short canal at Bogend, across the loop of the river involved, he bypassed
SECTION 10
#1732771831828444-475: Is a small stream, known locally as Jock's Burn, which comes into play on the golf course at Kilbirnie Place Golf Club. The Powgree Burn rises on Cuff hill in the Gateside area, runs east of the old Speir's school , through Auchengree and Longbar then shortly after runs under Glengarnock railway station . The Pitcon Burn cuts deep into the hillside causing the tree lined gully known as Swinlees Glen,
481-476: Is suggested as being 'Stream of the herd (of deer)'. A Moot hill or Court Hill survives near Gateside at Bog hall in the old Barony of Beith. Dobie states that the Abbot of Kilwinning used it to administered justice to his vassals & tenants. It is a sub-oval, flat-topped mound, situated at the foot of a small valley. A number of large stones are visible in the sides of the mound. It is turf-covered, situated on
518-654: The 'Ludgar' or 'Lugdurr'. Loch Libo in the 14th century was referred to as Loch le Bog Syde in a charter, meaning the Bogside Loch . The course through Eglinton Park has been greatly through the construction of several weirs, canalisation, 'loops' infilled, small lochs removed, etc. The Duniflat Burn joins the Lugton Water from the East Ayrshire side close to the North Biggart bridge near where
555-835: The Bells Burn from Bells Bog on the East Renfrewshire side also has its confluence. The Bungle Burn, an outflow of the Blae Loch , joins the Lugton Water near the Bungleburn Bridge outside the village of Burnhouse . The river runs past Eglinton Loch within Eglinton Country Park and at times of heavy flood its waters enter the loch. It contains fresh-water and sea-trout and the occasional salmon. River Garnock The River Garnock ( Scottish Gaelic : Gairneag / Abhainn Ghairneig ),
592-666: The Garnock below the tidal limit, shortly after passing through Eglinton Country Park , developed around the ancient estate of the Earl of Eglinton. The two main rivers of North Ayrshire, the Irvine and the Garnock, come together in the estuary at Irvine Harbour where they jointly enter the Firth of Clyde . Major tributaries of the Irvine are the Glen Water, Cessnock Water, Kilmarnock Water (combined Fenwick and Craufurdland Waters), Carmel Water and Annick Water.. These rivers flow into
629-640: The Garnock near the Lovers' Bridge in Dalry. The Caaf Water drains from Caaf Reservoir and soon passes the Michelin star rated Braidwoods Restaurant, before entering the Lynn Glen with its waterfall and finally enters the Garnock south of Dalry. The Bombo Burn is a small stream, only about 5 miles (8.0 km) in length, that runs across the north side of Bankhead Moss, a Special Area of Conservation and joins
666-648: The Garnock soon after passing through the Blair Estate: The delightfully landscaped grounds and gardens of the Estate contain a wonderful mixture of species trees and shrubs from all over the world. The Bombo Burn meanders gently for a mile through the gardens creating many natural beauty spots. The ancient yew tree recorded in the Domesday Book leans over the banks of the Bombo Burn presiding on
703-697: The Hillhead Limestone Quarries at Broadstone, down to the railway near Brackenhills railway station on the old line from Giffen to the Glengarnock Steel Works, later the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway branchline to Kilbirnie South. The branchline to Beith via Barrmill did not exist at the time of the lines construction, not opening until 1873. A railway bridge was built to carry the Hillhead Railway over
740-570: The breach and once the river course had been drained and sealed off he was able to have the flooded mineworkings pumped out. The breach lay on the sea side of the loop close to Bogend on the Snodgrass Holm side. The Earl leased the mines to Bairds of Gartsherrie and the "Eglinton Iron Works" were born. A legend tells of Saint Winning sending his monks to fish in the Garnock, however no matter how hard they tried or how long they persevered they could catch nothing. The saint in response placed
777-516: The changes over the centuries. The Dusk Water is a stream that has its beginnings on Cuff Hill, near Beith , and runs through Barrmill to eventually join the Garnock upstream of Dalgarven . Interesting places along its course, as well as several old watermills, are Giffin House , a large and handsome mansion-house, and Cleeves Cove , a system of caves in the Dusk Glen. A couple of miles from
SECTION 20
#1732771831828814-403: The estuary as well as numerous breeding birds, including water rail , grasshopper warbler and sand martin . The Garnock/Irvine estuary is also a Wildlife Site. Bogside Flats SSSI covers 253.8ha that include inter-tidal mudflats, salt-marsh and adjacent pasture land. The Pundeavon Burn drains from Pundeavon Reservoir and enters the Garnock just upstream of Kilbirnie Cross. The Paduff Burn
851-632: The estuary, the Garnock being swelled by the Annick Water that has its confluence at the Dirrans in Kilwinning . The silt from these rivers has created the Bogside mudflats and the course of these rivers has been greatly altered over the centuries through both natural and man made influences. On 20 June 1833 the surface of the Garnock was seen to be ruffled and it was discovered that a section of
888-419: The flooding of the workings and the river level returned to normal. The weight of the floodwater was so great that the compressed air broke through the ground in many places and many acres of ground were observed to bubble up like a pan of boiling water. In some places rents and cavities appeared measuring four or five feet in diameter, and from these came a roaring sound described as being like steam escaping from
925-544: The gentle gradients, it may be that the line was at first worked by horses rather than steam locomotives. Later maps show significant changes and record a 'Barkip Junction' and show the line now curving to meet what was by then the Kilbirnie branchline. Hillhead Quarry was part of the Broadstone Limestone Works and the original Broadstone Farm was entirely lost to the limestone workings. Hillhead Farm
962-477: The last large traditionally operated lime kilns to operate, surviving until the 1970s. However, Broadstone has the substantial remains of one of the largest of the early stone built kilns. This must have created considerable pollution in the area, offset only by the employment it created. It sits right next to the limestone quarry which supplied it. The road running past is still known as 'Reek Street'. The narrow gauge and single track 'Hillhead Railway', once ran from
999-504: The new line and it must therefore have been fully active at that time. The Hillhead Railway is shown on the Ordnance Survey (OS) map of 1856, but not on the 1897 edition. The railway ran for several miles across what is now DM Beith land and ended up at first at an unloading point on a siding, where the limestone was emptied directly into standard gauge freight waggons. The map marks a few wooden railway bridges over burns and given
1036-545: The river altogether. Mungo Campbell even sold his fishing rod; however the murder of the earl in 1769 was as a direct result of Mungo being accused of poaching at Ardrossan's North Bay and Lord Eglinton's attempt to confiscate his gun. Gateside, North Ayrshire Gateside is a small village in North Ayrshire , Scotland about 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 metres) east of Beith on the B777. Gateside Primary School
1073-532: The river bed had collapsed into mineworkings beneath. The river was now flowing into miles of mineworkings of the Snodgrass, Bartonholm and Longford collieries. Attempts were made to block the breach with clay, whin, straw, etc. to no avail. The miners had been safely brought to the surface and were able to witness the sight of the river standing dry for nearly a mile downstream, with fish jumping about in all directions. The tide brought in sufficient water to complete
1110-541: The ruins of Glengarnock Castle north of Kilbirnie, whereas "The Garnock Valley " refers to a wider geographic area of North Ayrshire abutting Renfrewshire , which encompasses the former parishes of Beith , Dalry , and Kilbirnie . Within Ayrshire by far the largest estuary has developed, behind the Ardeer Peninsula, at the confluence of the Irvine and Garnock Rivers. This is one of the best examples of
1147-616: 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
Lugton Water - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-676: The source of the Dusk, a sluice diverts water via a tunnel into the eastern end of the Roebank reservoir, which feeds the Muirdykes water treatment works supplying much of the Paisley area with drinking water. The Lugton Water, the largest tributary of the Garnock, runs 14 miles (23 km) from Loch Libo (395 feet above sea-level) in Uplawmoor , through Lugton and the parishes of Neilston, Beith, Dunlop, Stewarton and Kilwinning. The Lugton joins
1221-584: The towns of Kilbirnie , Glengarnock , Dalry and Kilwinning to its confluence with the River Irvine at Irvine Harbour . The main tributaries are the Rye Water and Caaf Water which join north and south of Dalry respectively and the Lugton Water which joins just south of Kilwinning. " Glen Garnock" pertains specifically to the short, sometimes precipitous, section of ravine overlooked by
1258-468: Was formerly known. The loch, drained in 1780, is one of the main sources of the Powgree Burn and lay on the lands of Boghall and Hill o'Beith. In the bottom of the loch piles, stakes of oak or elm have been found and it is thought that these may be the remains of crannogs . The site is now represented by a low, marsh and reed covered area (less than 2 ha in extent) centred at NS 358 543 on the OS map. The loch
1295-536: Was once the property of the monks of Kilwinning Abbey and it is recorded that in 1482 the monks took legal action against the Montgomeries of Giffin Castle and James Ker who were accused of dangerous destruction and down-casting of the fosses and dikes of the loch called Loch Brand. It is not recorded what effect these actions had upon the size and depth of the loch. This old habitation, marked as Boighall on
1332-411: Was opened in 1903, and nowadays it has 74 pupils (2009). The school has an extension built in 1998 which provided indoor toilets and a school hall, which is used by the nursery, PE classes, and for school dinners and assemblies. Another extension is to be built soon. The school is very environmentally aware and has achieved its Green Flag Award (2009). Spier's school stood nearby and the grounds are now
1369-478: Was renamed Broadstone; a farm that still exists. Little remains of the railway apart from a shallow cutting running down from near West Broadstone, the overbridge near the old South Windyhouse Farm on the Barrmill Road and the route running to the site of old Barkip Junction. The old Ordnance Survey maps show that a marble quarry was located nearby, being an especially hard form of limestone that could take
#827172