Cluden Water

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Cluden, a small river of Kirkcudbright and Dumfries shires. It is formed by the confluence of the Cairn and Old Water of Cluden, close to the beautiful Routing Bridge, on the mutual boundary of Kirkpatrick-Irongray parish in Kirkcudbrightshire, and Holywood in Dumfriesshire, 6¾ miles WNW of Dumfries by road. Thence it winds 6⁵/₈ miles east-south-eastward along the boundary between the shires, and falls into the ` sweeping Nith ' at Lincluden, 1½ mile N by W of Dumfries. It figures in our pastoral poetry as `lonely Cluden's hermit stream, ' but nevertheless has a soft and lovely character, connected rather with fields and woods and lawns than sheepwalks. It contains large yellow trout and a few pike; and is ascended by salmon, grilses, sea-trout, and herlings. Its salmon are a distinct variety from those of the Nith, thicker and shorter in the body, much shorter in the head, and generally of a darker hue.—Ord. Sur., sh. 9,1863.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer