Not to be confused with either the Douglas Water

Douglas Water (Loch Fyne)

The Douglas Water is a river in Argyll in the southwest Scottish Highlands. It emerges from the northeastern end of the diminutive Loch Dubh-ghlas and flows northeastwards through Coire Dubh-ghlas before turning east then southeast amongst extensive conifer plantations to the bridge which carries...

 which flows into Loch Fyne or the Douglas Water

Glen Douglas

Glen Douglas is a glen in the southwest Scottish Highlands. It is drained by the Douglas Water which discharges at the village of Inverbeg at its eastern end into Loch Lomond. The glen is followed by a minor road which links the A82 road alongside Loch Lomond with the A814 road beside Loch Long...

 which flows into Loch Lomond

The Douglas Water is a river in south-central Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and is a tributary of the River Clyde

River Clyde

The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....

. Its course is entirely within the South Lanarkshire

South Lanarkshire

South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....

 council area. The river's name comes from the Gaelic

Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....

 dubh-glas, meaning black water.

The river rises in the hills which separate Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...

 from Ayrshire

Ayrshire

Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

, to the south west of Muirkirk

Muirkirk

Muirkirk is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is located on the north bank of the River Ayr, between Cumnock and Glenbuck on the A70...

. The source is close to that of the River Ayr

River Ayr

The River Ayr , longest river in what was the old county of Ayrshire of Scotland, is approximately 65 kilometres in length. It originates at Glenbuck Loch in East Ayrshire on the border of Lanarkshire and winds its way through East and South Ayrshire to the town of Ayr, where it empties into the...

, which flows west to the sea, but the Douglas Water runs north-east then east, past Glespin

Glespin

-Notable people:Footballer Bobby Crawford, who played almost 400 Football League games for Preston North End, was born in Glespin in 1901.-External links:*...

 and into Douglasdale. Here the river flows through the village of Douglas

Douglas, South Lanarkshire

Douglas is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located on the south bank of the Douglas Water and on the A70 road that links Ayr, on the West coast of Scotland, to Edinburgh on the East, around 12 miles south west of Lanark. The placename is of Gaelic origin, derived from the Old Gaelic...

, and past the scant remains of Douglas Castle

Douglas Castle

Douglas Castle was a stronghold of the Douglas family from medieval times to the 20th century. The first castle, erected in the 13th century, was destroyed and replaced several times until the 18th century when a large mansion house was built in its place. This too was demolished in 1938, and today...

. The castle was a stronghold of the House of Douglas

Clan Douglas

Clan Douglas is an ancient Scottish kindred from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an armigerous clan.The...

, a powerful medieval family, whose Norman ancestors settled here in the 12th century and took their surname from the river. The A70 road

A70 road

The A70 road is a major road in Scotland, United Kingdom. It runs a total of from Edinburgh to Ayr. It begins in Gorgie, Edinburgh, as Ardmillan Terrace from a junction with the A71 and ends as Holmston Road in Ayr going by but not through Lanark...

 follows the river through Douglasdale, and on to the Clyde.

East of Douglas, the river passes under the M74 motorway

M74 motorway

The A74 and M74 motorways form a major motorway in Scotland. Following an extension opened on 28 June 2011, it connects the M8 motorway west of Glasgow to the English border at Gretna, creating an alternative route for traffic moving from the south to the west of the city...

, just south of the Happendon services, and turns toward the north-east again. Below the village of Rigside

Rigside

Rigside is a small village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, about 5 miles from the town of Lanark, and less than a mile from Douglas Water. It lies on the A70 road to Ayr, and has approximately 800 inhabitants. Rigside is a former mining village....

, the smaller Poniel Burn flows into the Douglas Water. Beyond this confluence is the small village of Douglas Water

Douglas Water, South Lanarkshire

Douglas Water is a small village in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Named after the Douglas Water, which flows through the village, local mining operations provided employment to local people, and the village was bolstered by the Coltness Iron and Coal Company establishing an operation nearby...

. A dismantled railway line runs between the river and the A70 for the remaining 2 miles of its course. The Douglas Water flows into the Clyde around 3 miles south of Lanark

Lanark

Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....

.