The River Stinchar has its headwaters in the Carrick Forest to the north of the Galloway Forest Park, only one kilometre from the source of the River Girvan. It has a main drainage course of 54km and
The River Stinchar has its headwaters in the Carrick Forest to the north of the Galloway Forest Park, only one kilometre from the source of the River Girvan. It has a main drainage course of 54km and initially flows north but for the majority of its length flows south-west via Barr, Pinwherry and Colmonell, finally entering the sea at Ballantrae.
The river has a catchment area of 314 sq km, which includes the main tributaries of the Muck Water, the Duisk River, Water of Assel and the Water of Tig. The upper reaches of nearly all the tributaries have experienced rapid forestry development over the past twenty years. Forestry, hill grazing and agriculture are the main land uses in the Stinchar catchment which has a low human population density and very little industry.
The geology of the Stinchar catchment is relatively uniform and is d