Lugar Water

Lugar Water (Uisge Lugar)
River Lugar
The point at which Bellow Water (on the left) meets Glenmuir Water, forming Lugar Water.
Country	Scotland
Region	Ayrshire
Municipality	East Ayrshire
Part of	River Ayr
Tributaries
- left	Glaisnock Water
Town	Cumnock
Source
- location	Southern Uplands, East Ayrshire, Scotland

The Lugar Water, or River Lugar, is created by the confluence of the Bellow Water and the Glenmuir Water, just north of Lugar, both of which flow from the hills of the Southern Uplands in East Ayrshire, Scotland.

The river flows through the small mining village of Lugar, where at Bellow Mill, William Murdoch, the inventor of gas lighting was born in 1784. A cave where he carried out a lot of his experiments can still be seen on the riverbank. The river then flows on through the town of Cumnock, under the Woodroad Viaduct, where its water was used in earlier times to power grain mills and where it is joined by Glaisnock Water.

It continues its journey through the estate of the Marquess of Bute, Dumfries Estate, where it flows beneath the beautiful ornamental bridge of Lochnorris, designed by John Adam. who also designed and built Dumfries House, the residence of the present Marquess of Bute. It now reaches the village of Ochiltree, where its waters are harnessed by a weir which drove the local grain mills in days gone by. Here Atlantic salmon have been seen jumping the fish ladder, which allows them to reach their spawning grounds in the upper reaches of the river. The river also holds a good stock of the native brown trout, and these are fished for by anglers of all ages. In May 2014 the Ayrshire Rivers Trust reported that barbel, a locally invasive species, had been caught on the river.