River Esk, Lothian - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The River Esk is a river which flows through Midlothian

Midlothian

Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....

and East Lothian

East Lothian

East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....

, 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 initially runs as two separate rivers, the North Esk and the South Esk.

The North Esk rises in the North Esk Reservoir in the Pentland Hills

Pentland Hills

The Pentland Hills are a range of hills to the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The range is around 20 miles in length, and runs south west from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale.Some of the peaks include:* Scald Law...

, in Midlothian

Midlothian

Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....

, a mile (1½ km) north of the village of Carlops

Carlops

Carlops is a small village in the Pentland Hills, within the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, close to the boundary with Midlothian.The village was founded in 1784 and developed cotton weaving, coalmining and limestone mining....

. It flows north-east past Penicuik

Penicuik

Penicuik is a burgh and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River North Esk. The town was developed as a planned village in 1770 by Sir James Clerk of Penicuik. It became a burgh in 1867. The town was well known for its paper mills, the last of which closed in 2005....

, Auchendinny

Auchendinny

Auchendinny is a small village near Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland. The village had a paper mill at Dalmore, until its closure in 2005. Nearby Auchendinny House was the last country house designed by gentleman architect Sir William Bruce.-References:...

, through Roslin Glen, past Hawthornden Castle

Hawthornden Castle

Hawthornden Castle is located on the River North Esk in Midlothian, Scotland. The castle lies a mile to the east of Roslin at grid reference , and is just downstream from Roslin Castle. Hawthornden comprises a 15th century ruin, with a 17th century L-plan house attached. The house has been restored...

, Polton

Polton

Polton is a village located in Lasswade parish, Midlothian, Scotland, anciently a superiority of the Ramsay family, cadets of Dalhousie. In 1618 David Ramsay of Polton was in possession. ....

, Lasswade

Lasswade

Lasswade is a civil parish and village in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles south of Edinburgh city centre, between Dalkeith and Loanhead...

and Melville Castle

Melville Castle

Melville Castle is a three-storey Gothic castellated mansion situated less than a mile west-south-west of Dalkeith, Midlothian, near the North Esk....

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The South Esk rises at the southernmost extremity of Midlothian, on the western slopes of Blackhope Scar (the highest of the Moorfoot Hills

Moorfoot Hills

The Moorfoot Hills are a range of hills south of Edinburgh in east central Scotland, UK, one of the ranges which collectively form the Southern Uplands.The Hills run from Peebles, Scottish Borders, in a north easterly direction to Tynehead, Midlothian....

). It flows north through Gladhouse Reservoir

Gladhouse Reservoir

Gladhouse Reservoir, formerly Moorfoot Loch, is a reservoir in Midlothian, Scotland, five miles south of Penicuik. It is the largest area of freshwater in the Lothians....

and Rosebery Reservoir, and through the village of Temple, Midlothian

Temple, Midlothian

Temple is a village and parish in Midlothian, Scotland. Situated to the south of Edinburgh, the village lies on the east bank of the River South-Esk.-Pre-Reformation:...

, before receiving the Redside Burn close to Arniston House

Arniston House

Arniston House is a historic house in Midlothian, Scotland, near the village of Temple. This Georgian mansion was designed by William Adam in 1726 for Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the elder, the Lord President of the Court of Session...

. It is joined by the Gore Water and then the Dalhousie Burn, just to the west of Newtongrange

Newtongrange

Newtongrange is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. Known in local dialect as Nitten, or Nitten by the Bing ,it became Scotland's largest mining village in the 1890s, with the sinking of the Lady Victoria Colliery and a shaft over 1600 feet deep...

, before passing Newbattle Abbey

Newbattle Abbey

Newbattle Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which has subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution.-Monastery:...

and proceeding through Dalkeith

Dalkeith

Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...

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The rivers converge just about 1¼ miles (2 km) north-east of Dalkeith at the edge of the grounds of Dalkeith Palace

Dalkeith Palace

Dalkeith Palace in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland, is the former seat of the Duke of Buccleuch.Dalkeith Castle was located to the north east of Dalkeith, and was originally in the hands of the Clan Graham in the 12th century and given to the Douglas family in the early 14th century. James Douglas...

. From here the River Esk continues north for about 4⅓ miles (7 km), flowing 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 Musselburgh

Musselburgh

Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...

, East Lothian

East Lothian

See also