Geography and History
Its source is St. Mary's Loch and from there the Yarrow Water flows 20 kilometres (12 mi) in an easterly direction with a fall of 123.5 metres (405 ft) passing the settlements of Yarrow Feus, Yarrow and Yarrowford before joining the Ettrick near to the site of the 1645 Battle of Philiphaugh just west of Selkirk. This confluence, which occurs at the eastern edge of the Duke of Buccleuch's Bowhill Estate, is known as the Meetings Pool. The valley is traversed by the A708 that runs from Selkirk to Moffat.
The explorer Mungo Park was born at Foulshiels on the left bank of the river in 1771. In May 1804 Walter Scott came upon Park throwing stones into a deep pool in the river and remarked that "This appears but an idle amusement for one who has seen so much adventure". Park replied that this was "Not so idle perhaps, as you suppose. This was the way I used to ascertain the depth of a river in Africa". Although he had not yet told anyone, Park was considering his second and fateful expedition at the time. At about the same time, James Hogg ("The Ettrick Shepherd") had come to the attention of Scott whilst the former was working at Blackhouse Farm in the Yarrow valley.
The impressive ruins of Newark Castle, held by Clan Douglas in the 15th century, lie on the right bank of the river opposite Foulshiels.
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