The Mill Lade
The Mill Lade, Graham Riddell Photography
The Mill Lade, referred to locally as the "Dam", starts about a mile and a half north of Innerleithen town centre at the "Cauld", a concrete weir straddling Leithen Water at the southern end of the golf course. The lade follows a course roughly parallel to the Leithen until both flow into the River Tweed within yards of each other. Constructed originally to provide both power and washing water for five woollen mills, the swift current of the Dam also turned water wheels at a sawmill and engineering works in Morningside. A modern example of these can be seen at Robert Smail’s Printing Works.
The Mill Lade, Graham Riddell Photography
The Mill Lade, referred to locally as the "Dam", starts about a mile and a half north of Innerleithen town centre at the "Cauld", a concrete weir straddling Leithen Water at the southern end of the golf course. The lade follows a course roughly parallel to the Leithen until both flow into the River Tweed within yards of each other. Constructed originally to provide both power and washing water for five woollen mills, the swift current of the Dam also turned water wheels at a sawmill and engineering works in Morningside. A modern example of these can be seen at Robert Smail’s Printing Works.