Whiteadder Water

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Whiteadder water passing through Abbey St Bathans

Whiteadder Water {IPA-'hwət.ɑːɗə} is a river in East Lothian and Berwickshire, Scotland. In common with the headwaters of the Biel Water it rises on the low hillside of Clints Dod (122 m, 399 ft) in the Lammermuir Hills, just ESE of Whitecastle Hillfort and 3 km (2 miles) south-east of the village of Garvald.

The stream wends its way south east for approximately 5 km (3 miles) where it joins with the Faseny Water to form the Whiteadder Reservoir formed in 1968, which supplies most of the towns of East Lothian (including the power station of Cockenzie) 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 and Eye 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, where it crosses into England, before joining the River Tweed, just north of East Ord, a suburb of Berwick-upon-Tweed.