Many attempts were made to harness Loch Doon for Hydro Power between the 1890s and the 1920s, but it wasn't until the National Grid came into existence in the late 1920s that it became a real possibility.
Then in May 1929, a bill making Loch Doon the main reservoir of the Galloway Hydro Scheme gained royal ascent, and work was set to begin. It could, perhaps, have been derailed by the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression, but this breathtakingly ambitious Renewable Energy Scheme went ahead.
This is the first part in a new series about the building of the Galloway Hydro Scheme.

Sources: https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst2833.html - Carsphairn Lane

https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst10155.html - Water of Deugh

Original dam, Canmore: https://canmore.org.uk/event/961461

Salmon ladder, canmore: https://canmore.org.uk/event/881946 https://canmore.org.uk/event/578224

Salmon Ladder, https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/212076043.pdf , LESLIE ON SALMON-LADDERS IN SCOTLAND.

Loch Doon, Salmon Ladder and Hydro Scheme leaflet, Scottish Power https://www.scottishpower.com/userfiles/file/Loch-Doon-2014.pdf

Western Scotland Climate, Met Office https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/weather/regional-climates/western-scotland_-climate-met-office.pdf

Tunnel and Dam by George Hill : https://dumgal.inforlib.uk/iguana/www.main.cls?surl=search&p=*#recordId=1.182669

An architectural re-assesment of the Galloway hydro-electric development 1998. Twiname, Alistair.: https://dumgal.inforlib.uk/iguana/www.main.cls?surl=search&p=*#recordId=1.314637

Many thanks to Galloway Then and Now for their filming and editing assistance and Dumfries and Galloway Libraries for the books and support.

Intro/outro maps from Google Earth

I make these short #history films as a hobby, so I don't make any money from them. If you have liked what I do, maybe you could buy me a coffee? https://ko-fi.com/alternatecelt