Water of Fleet

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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Fleet, Water of, a small river of Girthon parish, SW Kirkcudbrightshire. The Big Water of Fleet is formed at a point 23/8 miles above a 20-arch viaduct of the Portpatrick railway, by the confluence of Carrouch, Mid, and Cardson Burns, which all three rise on the eastern side of Cairnsmore of Fleet (2331 feet). Thence it runs 6½ miles south-south-eastward along the Kirkmabreck and Anwoth border, till it is joined by the Little Water of Fleet, which, issuing from triangular Loch Fleet (3 X 2 furl.; 1120 feet), has a south-by-easterly course of 71/8 miles. After their union, near Castramont, the stream, as Water of Fleet, flows 4¾ miles south-byeastward, and then, a little below Gatehouse, expands, over the last 35/8 miles of its course, into the fine estuary of Fleet Bay. It traverses charming scenery throughout its middle or lower reaches, and is navigable by small vessels up to Gatehouse. Its waters are strictly preserved, and trout, sea-trout, and herlings are plentiful, but salmon nowadays are few and far between.—Ord. Sur., shs. 4, 5, 1857.

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

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