Whiteadder Water

Whiteadder Water
The headwaters of the Whiteadder (May 2006)
Location of the confluence in Scotland
Location
Country	England and Scotland, UK
Region	East Lothian, Berwickshire and Northumberland
Physical characteristics
Mouth	Confluence with the River Tweed
• coordinates	55°45′35″N 2°02′42″W / 55.759731°N 2.044910°W / 55.759731; -2.044910
Basin features
Grid reference	NT645655

Whiteadder Water /ˈhwʌtədər/ is a river in East Lothian and Berwickshire, Scotland. It also flows for a very short distance through Northumberland before joining the River Tweed. In common with the headwaters of the Biel Water it rises on the low hillside of Clints Dod (122 m or 400 ft) in the Lammermuir Hills, just ESE of Whitecastle Hillfort and 3 km (1.9 mi) south-east of the village of Garvald.

Etymology

Adder may be derived from Brittonic *ador, *edir or Old English edre, possible ancient hydronymic terms derived from an Indo-European formation meaning "a watercourse, a channel" (compare River Etherow). The possibility of the name deriving from Old English ǣdre, "a vein" (Anglian ēdre), or *ǣdre, meaning "quickly" is objected on the grounds that these would have maintained the long initial vowel in English and Scots.

Also suggested is derivation from Gaelic fad dûr, meaning "long water". though the Gaelic was never spoken in the Scottish southeast.

Course

The stream wends its way south east for approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) where it joins with the Faseny Water to form the Whiteadder Reservoir created in 1968, which supplies most of the towns of East Lothian (including, before its closure, the Cockenzie power station) and Berwickshire, with water.

From there, crossing into Berwickshire it runs alongside the B6355 road to Ellemford where it joins the Dye Water and further on at Abbey St. Bathans, the Monynut Water.

By this point having become a much larger body of flow, the Whiteadder meanders across Eastern parts of the Merse passing the communities of Preston, Chirnside, Allanton. Here at Allanton the Whiteadder joins with its antonymic counterpart the Blackadder Water. The river proceeds by Foulden, Edrington, and Paxton, it crosses into England, before joining the River Tweed, just north of East Ord, a suburb of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

History

In the 12th century, Melrose Abbey established granges for its sheep flocks at Penshiel, Hartside, Edmundston and Friardykes in the catchment of the Whiteadder, leading to disputes over grazing rights with the tenants of the Earl of Dunbar.

Notability

See also

• Rivers of Scotland
• List of places in the Scottish Borders

References