Gala Water

Gala Water

The Gala Water (Lowland Scots: Gala Watter; Scottish Gaelic An Geal Ath) is a river in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland and a left-bank tributary of the River Tweed. It flows in a south-southwesterly direction from Falahill to its confluence with the Tweed just downstream of Galashiels, almost 100 metres (330 feet) above sea level. The Heriot Water is a right-bank tributary coming in from the west, and is larger than the Gala Water before their confluence.

It is sometimes known as just the "Gala", a nickname which is also shared with the town of Galashiels, which it flows through. The "Braw Lads O Gala Watter" is a song about people from Galashiels.

The Gala Water drains an upland catchment of the Moorfoot Hills, mainly used for hill grazing but with some forestry and arable sections. The gauging station at the upstream end of Galashiels (about 4 km (2.5 mi) from the Tweed) has a catchment area of 207 km2 (80 sq mi).

The Borders Railway and A7 road both follow the Gala Water, the railway crossing the river 15 times, while the road is largely on the eastern side crossing the Gala Water only twice near Fountainhall.

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