Not to be confused with the River Almond, Perth and Kinross

River Almond, Perth and Kinross

The River Almond is a tributary of the River Tay in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It rises in the hills to the south-east of Loch Tay, and flows eastwards through Glenalmond. It runs through the village of Almondbank, before joining the Tay immediately north of Perth. The river's course is around ...

The River Almond is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in east-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...

. It is 28 miles (45 km) long, rising in North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...

 near Shotts

Shotts

Shotts is a small rural town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh . As of the 2001 census, the population was 8,235...

 and runs through West Lothian

West Lothian

West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....

, draining into the Firth of Forth

Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...

 at Cramond

Cramond

Cramond is a seaside village now part of suburban Edinburgh, Scotland, located in the north-west corner of the city at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth....

 near Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

.

Running through what were, for much of the 20th Century, areas dominated by heavy industry and coal mining, the River Almond has been notorious for its high levels of pollution. With the demise of mining and heavy industry in Central Scotland

Central Belt

The Central Belt of Scotland is a common term used to describe the area of highest population density within Scotland. Despite the name, it is not geographically central but is nevertheless situated at the 'waist' of Scotland on a conventional map and the term 'central' is used in many local...

 the river is now much cleaner and is being actively repopulated by wildlife, including a healthy population of Brown Trout

Brown trout

The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....

 and improving runs of both Atlantic Salmon(Salmon salar

Atlantic salmon

The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....

) and Sea Trout (Salmo trutta). The is a good array of birds to be seen around the River banks, including Dippers, Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

s and Grey Heron

Grey Heron

The Grey Heron , is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions...

s, with increasing numbers of Otter being reported. The river is still the primary means of transporting southern West Lothian's waste water to the sea. While the introduction of a number of water treatment plants have helped to mitigate the effects of pollution, the river still suffers from high levels of detergent pollution along with run-off from agricultural land. This has led to the river often having a distinct "chemical odour". This is most noticeable within Almondell and Calderwood Country Park

Almondell and Calderwood Country Park

Almondell and Calderwood Country Park is a Country Park in Mid Calder and East Calder in West Lothian, Scotland. The park is split into two main areas, Almondell Park which comprises the Almondell estate which originally belonged to the Erskine family of Broxburn and the Calderwood estate which...

, where there is a major outfall from the nearby East Calder treatment plant.
The river runs through the centre of Livingston before travelling through Almondell and Calderwood Country Park where it picks up the Calder and Murieston Waters. It then passes over a weir which supplies a feeder culvert which carries water into the Union Canal

Union Canal (Scotland)

The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...

. Due to the height difference where the river passes under the canal, this feeder must run for many miles eastwards before reaching the canal. By following paths through the country park and along private land to the east it is possible to follow the river and feeder all the way to the Union Canal. The river then flows east under the Union Canal

Union Canal (Scotland)

The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...

 before turning northwards towards the Firth of Forth

Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...

. Fishing on the lower Almond is leased from the Crown Estate

Crown Estate

In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...

 by Cramond Angling Club, with both Day and Season Tickets available. The mouth of the Almond at Cramond formerly had a small passenger ferry. In 1997 the ferryman discovered the Cramond Lioness

Cramond Lioness

The Cramond lioness is a Roman-era sculpture recovered in 1997 from the mouth of the River Almond at Cramond, Edinburgh, Scotland.It depicts a bound male prisoner being killed by a lioness...

, a Roman

Roman Britain

Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...

-era sculpture, in the mud of the river bed. The sculpture is now in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The industrial heritage of central Scotland can be observed along the length of the river with numerous weirs, remains of mills and other riverside industries of the past. The M8 motorway follows the course of the Almond for much of its length.

External links

• "Overview of Almond, River", Gazetteer of Scotland, accessed November 20, 2009.
• "Cramond Angling Club"
• "Forth District Salmon Fishery Board"
• "River Forth Fisheries Trust"