River Annick - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Annick Water is the largest tributary of the River Irvine

River Irvine

The River Irvine is a river flowing through southwest Scotland, with its watershed on the Lanarkshire border of Ayrshire at an altitude of above sea-level, near Drumclog, and SW by W of Strathaven...

. The river runs from Long Loch, just inside East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...

, in a generally south-western direction through North Ayrshire

North Ayrshire

North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...

and East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...

, to confluence with its parent river at Irvine, North Ayrshire

Irvine, North Ayrshire

Irvine is a new town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland. According to 2007 population estimates, the town is home to 39,527 inhabitants, making it the biggest settlement in North Ayrshire....

on the west coast of Scotland. The name may derive from the Gaelic for 'overflowing' and Strathannick is very much prone to flooding as recorded by SEPA.

The water now (2006) appears to be pollution free for most of its length. An independent survey in the Bourtreehill

Bourtreehill

Bourtreehill is a housing scheme which forms part of the Irvine New Town in North Ayrshire, Scotland.- Etymology :A 'Bour Tree' is the Ayrshire name for the Common Elder tree, Sambucus nigra, often found in the older and more biodiverse local woodlands....

(1999) area revealed a strong colony of freshwater shrimp, a crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

known only to live in relatively clean water.

On 27 January 2009 a BP tanker train carrying liquid fuels (diesel and heating oil) from Mossend to Riccarton was derailed near the bridge over the Stewarton to Kilmaurs road at Peacockbank Farm. Several wagons subsequently caught fire. The Annick Water was polluted, however, it escaped major contamination.

History

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....

man used the Annick as his waterway. From Bourtreehill

Bourtreehill

to Dreghorn

Dreghorn

Dreghorn is a village near Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. This parish comprehends the old parishes of Dreghorn and Pearston, which were united in 1668. The whole of the parish was historically the property of the De Morvilles, who were Constables of Scotland and Lords of Cunninghame...

, the Annick has presented us with many artifacts dating from that time. Indeed, recent archaeological evidence from Dreghorn

Dreghorn

uncovered the oldest continually used settlement in Europe. This mesolithic village was on the banks of the Annick.

A number of mills existed along its length with only Cunninghamhead Mill still standing today (2006). Lambroch Mill was located near Laigh Castleton Farm. Scroaggy or Fairliecrevoch Mill was a waulk or cloth mill and existed until the 1960s, with its lade cutting across the large loop in the river near Ramstane. Downstream from Cunninghamhead was a sawmill and a corn mill existed in Perceton near the old church. Scroag or scrog is a crab apple or gnarled treestumps in old Scots and this 'nickname' well describes the area where the mill stood.

A number of fords and stepping stone

Stepping stone

Stepping stone and similar can refer to:* Step-stone bridge, stones placed in a river to allow pedestrians to cross* Stepping stone , a type of computer security measure...

s are present, notably at Chapeltoun

Chapeltoun

Chapeltoun is an estate on the banks of the Annick Water in East Ayrshire, Scotland. This is a rural area famous for its milk and cheese production and the Ayrshire or Dunlop breed of cattle.-Templeton and the Knights Templar:...

, Lambroch Mill, and at Ramstane where a footbridge was also present. A footbridge is still present at Laigh Castleton and a weir existed close to Lainshaw House, raising the water level to form an area which was ideal for water fowl. A small weir is still present beneath the surviving bridge into the Lainshaw Holm. Wooden carriageway bridges existed at two places on the Lainshaw estate; the stone built abutments are still visible.

A number of old bridges cross the Annick Water along its entire length, such as at Stewarton

Stewarton

Stewarton is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In comparison to the neighbouring towns of Kilmaurs, Fenwick, Dunlop and Lugton, it is a relatively large town, with a population of over 6,500. It is 300 feet above sea level.Groome, Francis H. . Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Pub. Caxton. London....

and Chapeltoun

Chapeltoun

. Notable is the 17th century remains of bridge-supports in Bourtreehill

Bourtreehill

's own stretch of the Annick. Other early railway bridges cross its shallow and easy waters. The lower reaches were known as Strathannick in the 18th century, but the name has sadly gone out of use.

Death on the Annick

During a particularly long feud between the Cunningham and Montgomery families in the 16th and 17th centuries, the fourth Earl's of Eglinton

Earl of Eglinton

Earl of Eglinton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland.Some authorities spell the title: Earl of Eglintoun In 1859 the thirteenth Earl of Eglinton, Archibald Montgomerie, was also created Earl of Winton in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords,...

was murdered at a ford on the Annick at Bridgend in Stewarton.

The river can be dangerous and a gravestone in Dreghorn Parish Church records the death by drowning of a young lad from Perceton in Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

times.

On 18th of August 2007 a Stewarton

Stewarton

boy, Dean McGregor,Dean McGregor fell into the Annick Water when it was in flood. The scene of the tragedy was near Lainshaw House. An RAF 'Search and Rescue' helicopter from HMS Gannet searched the river for several hours, unsuccessfully. The body was found in the river a few days later near the sewerage works.

Wildlife

North American mink

Mink

There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...

have been sighted along the banks of the Annick. This aggressive animal was unfortunately introduced to Britain and has been the cause for much concern for many years.

Kingfishers have been spotted flying above the surface of the water, successfully catching small fish in their beaks.

The eel, which originates in the Sargasso Sea

Sargasso Sea

The Sargasso Sea is a region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by ocean currents. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream; on the north, by the North Atlantic Current; on the east, by the Canary Current; and on the south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current. This...

has been known to cross land at certain sections of the Annick River. This is a common habit of the eel but the sight is rather odd.

As well as some Trout and Salmon it has a healthy population of Sticklebacks, Minnows, Freshwater Shrimps, Freshwater Limpets, Caddisfly Larvae, Blackfly, Stonefly and Leeches, indicating that the water quality is good. Mallard and heron are frequently encountered and the occasional Great Crested Grebe can be seen. Eel

Eel

Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...

s are sometimes to be found on land, especially in wet weather, taking a shortcut across the top of the lengthy loops that are found in the river in the area.

Marchantia polymorpha, the Common Liverwort

Marchantiophyta

The Marchantiophyta are a division of bryophyte plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like other bryophytes, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information....

grows on the bare bedrock dykes of the Annick near Cunninghamhead Mill, this plant being much rarer than the name suggests. Pellia epiphyla and Lunularia liverworts grow on the earth riverside banks at Cunninghamhead and elsewhere. The riverside vegetation includes Butterburr, Reed-Canary Grass, Rushes, Water Forget-Me-Not, Brooklime-Speedwell, Giant Hogweed, Hemlock Water-Dropwort, Willows and Alders.

History

Death on the Annick

Wildlife

See also