The Black Devon is a small river in Scotland. It rises in the Cleish Hills, specifically the area known as Outh Muir, which peaks just over 282 metres above sea level, roughly 1 mile north of the Knockhill Racing Circuit, which lies around five and a half miles north-west of Dunfermline, Fife, where three small streams gather. The river flows westwards through Balgonar, north of Saline, and then merges with the Saline Burn. The Black Devon flows into Clackmannanshire, through the hamlet of Forestmill, past the town of Clackmannan, and down the eastern edge of Alloa, before doubling back on itself, where it joins the River Forth south of Clackmannan, roughly a half mile north of Dunmore, which is on the opposite bank of the Forth.
It is a narrow and shallow river that holds wild brown trout, and also sees sea trout in winter months that come into the Firth of Forth, which is tidal as far as Stirling. The Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland manage the River Forth and its tributary rivers, which besides the Black Devon include the larger rivers of the Devon, Teith, and Allan.
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Black Devon at Back Wood, looking west and east, Clackmannan, Feb 2022
Mine collapse
In June 1952 the last two miles of the Black Devon were affected by the collapse of an old mine under its riverbed, where the fresh water from the river and tidal seawater flowing upstream from the Forth at high tide drained into the workings until they were filled with water.
Coal mining over a long period of time from at least three collieries working different strata, had caused significant subsidence around the lower reaches of the Black Devon and its confluence with the River Forth. The area between the west bank of the Black Devon and the Forth had subsided considerably and had been put to use as Clackmannanshire's refuse landfill for a time, however modern environmental considerations meant that this had to cease. The landfill was capped with clay taken from elsewhere on the site around 2008 and a plan set in place to create a natural wetland area.
Gartmorn Dam
The Gartmorn Dam is a reservoir which was commissioned by John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1675–1732), to provide water power for the pumps which drained his collieries locally. Gartmorn Dam does not lie on the route of the Black Devon, but to expand the dam's capacity it was re-engineered to be fed from it by a lade originating at a weir in the Black Devon at Forestmill. Today Gartmorn Dam is used for leisure activities. The weir and lade remain in good condition, but are no longer used.
Industry using the Black Devon
Two mills were once powered by a lade from the black Devon at Linn Mill. The woolen Mill at Clackmannan may have taken water from the river for its operations.
A view westward from the bridge at the former site of Clackmannan's woolen mill, January 2017