Endrick 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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Endrick Water, a stream of Stirlingshire chiefly, but partly of Dumbartonshire, formed, at a point 4½ miles SSE of Kippen village, by the confluence of Gourlays and Burnfoot Burns, which, rising among the Gargunnock Hills at 1480 and 1450 feet above sea-level, have a southerly course of 3¹/₈. and 2½ miles. Thence it winds 29 miles (only 15⁵/₈. as the crow flies) westward, till it falls into Loch Lomond, towards the foot, and 2³/₈. miles WNW of Buchanan House. It bounds or traverses the parishes of Gargunnock, Fintry, Balfron, Killearn, Kilmaronock, Drymen, and Buchanan, under which its chief features-waterfalls, villages, and mansions-are described; and it receives a number of affluents, the largest of them the Blane. Many parts of Strathendrick, or ` Sweet Innerdale,' are of great beauty; and Richard Franck, in his quaint Northern Memoirs (1694), speaks of ` the memorable Anderwick, a rapid river of strong and stiff streams, whose fertile banks refresh the borderer, and whose fords, if well examined, are arguments sufficient to convince the angler of trout, as are her deeps, when consulted, the noble race and treasure of salmon, or remonstrate his ignorance in the art of angling. ' The waters are mostly preserved, and the trout are still fairly plentiful, with a good many pike, sea-trout in autumn, and now and then a salmon.Ord. Sur., shs. 39, 30, 38, 1866-71.

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