Douglas Water

The Douglas Water (Scottish Gaelic: Dùghlas) is a river in South Lanarkshire of south-central Scotland.

The river rises in the hills which separate Lanarkshire from Ayrshire, to the south west of Muirkirk.

The source is close to that of the River Ayr, which flows west to the sea, but the Douglas Water runs north-east then east, past Glespin and into Douglasdale.

The castle was a stronghold of the House of Douglas, a powerful medieval family who took their surname from the river.

East of Douglas, the river passes under the M74 motorway, just south of the Happendon services, and turns toward the north-east again.