A gill or ghyll is a ravine or narrow valley in the North of England and parts of Scotland. The word originates from the Old Norse gil. [1] Examples include Dufton Ghyll Wood, Dungeon Ghyll, Troller's Gill and Trow Ghyll. As a related usage, Gaping Gill is the name of a cave, not the associated stream, and Cowgill, Masongill and Halton Gill are derived names of villages. [2]
In South East England, the High Weald gills are deeply cut ravines, usually with a stream in the base [3] which eroded the ravine. These gills may be up to 200 feet (61 m) deep, which represents a significant physiographic feature in lowland England. [4]
The stream flowing through a gill is often referred to as a beck: for example in Swaledale, Gunnerside Beck flows through Gunnerside Ghyll. Beck is also used as a more general term for streams in Yorkshire, Cumbria, south Durham and north Lancashire – examples include Ais Gill Beck, Arkle Beck and Peasey Beck. There are also examples in Norfolk, including Hagon Beck, Scarrow Beck and Gur Beck.
In the North Pennines, the word sike or syke [5] is found in similar circumstances. This is particularly common in the Appleby Fells area where sikes significantly outnumber the becks and gills; it can also be seen in the name of Eden Sike Cave in Mallerstang.
The Pennines, also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "backbone of England" because of its length and position, the range runs from Derbyshire and Staffordshire in the North Midlands to Northumberland in North East England, near the Anglo-Scottish border. The range starts near the valley of the River Trent to the south and extends northwards across the Peak District, South Pennines, Yorkshire Dales, and North Pennines, ending at the Tyne Gap. Beyond the gap are the Border Moors and Cheviot Hills, which are included in some definitions of the range.
The Weald is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent. It has three parts, the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre, the clay "Low Weald" periphery and the Greensand Ridge, which stretches around the north and west of the Weald and includes its highest points. The Weald once was covered with forest and its name, Old English in origin, signifies "woodland". The term is still used, as scattered farms and villages sometimes refer to the Weald in their names.
A fell is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, parts of northern England, and Scotland.
Pen-y-ghent or Penyghent is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is the lowest of Yorkshire's Three Peaks at 2,277 feet (694 m); the other two being Ingleborough and Whernside. It lies 1.9 miles (3 km) east of Horton in Ribblesdale. It has a number of interesting geological features, such as Hunt Pot, and further down, Hull Pot. The waters that flow in have created an extensive cave system which rises at Brants Gill head.
Gaping Gill is a natural cave in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the unmistakable landmarks on the southern slopes of Ingleborough – a 98-metre (322 ft) deep pothole with the stream Fell Beck flowing into it. After falling through one of the largest known underground chambers in Britain, the water disappears into the bouldery floor and eventually resurges adjacent to Ingleborough Cave.
The River Eden is a river that flows through the Eden District of Cumbria, England, on its way to the Solway Firth.
The River Esk is a river in North Yorkshire, England that empties into the North Sea at Whitby after a course of around 28 miles (45 km) through its valley of Eskdale. The river's name is derived from the Brythonic word "isca" meaning "water". The Esk is the only major river in Yorkshire that flows directly into the North Sea; all other watercourses defined as being major rivers by the Environment Agency, either flow to the North Sea via the River Tees or the Humber Estuary.
Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in North West England, the epithet "Great" distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale. Langdale is also the name of a valley in the Howgill Fells, elsewhere in Cumbria.
Gunnerside is a village in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in Swaledale, on the B6270 road, 3 miles (5 km) east of Muker and 6 miles (10 km) west of Grinton. The village lies between the River Swale and its tributary, Gunnerside Beck, and is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Harrison Stickle is a fell in the central part of the English Lake District, situated above Great Langdale. The fell is one of the three fells which make up the picturesque Langdale Pikes, the others being Pike of Stickle and Loft Crag. Together they make up one of the most picturesque, and probably the best-known, mountain groups in the District. A "stickle" is a hill with a prominent rocky top.
Blea Rigg is a fell in the English Lake District, lying between the valleys of Easedale and Great Langdale. One of the Central Fells, it is a broad plateau with a succession of rocky tops. Many routes of ascent are possible, beginning either from Grasmere or Great Langdale, though the paths are often poorly marked and hard to follow.
Kershope Burn is a small river; a tributary of both the Liddel Water and the River Esk; its final destination is the Solway Firth. The early stages begin in the Border Forest, from where it flows in a south westerly direction, followed in its entirety by the border between England and Scotland.
Gilley Law or otherwise known as Lakeside Village is a neighbourhood in Sunderland, England.
A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long, large streams are usually called rivers, while smaller, less voluminous and more intermittent streams are known as streamlets, brooks or creeks.
Gunnerside Gill is a small valley in the Yorkshire Dales, England, which branches off Swaledale into moorland to the north of Gunnerside.
Murton is a small village and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. The parish had a population of 330 in 2001, rising to 360 at the 2011 Census. Settlements within the parish include the villages of Hilton, Langton, Brackenber and various small farms, houses and cottages. The town of Appleby-in-Westmorland is to the south-west.
High Cup Gill, almost a geometrically perfect U-shaped chasm, is a valley deeply incised into the Pennine scarp to the northeast of Appleby-in-Westmorland in Cumbria and within the North Pennines AONB in northern England. It is considered to be glacial in origin, ice having over-ridden the area during successive ice ages. To its southeast is Murton Fell and Dufton Fell is to the north.
Arn Gill is a ravine or gully containing a beck of the same name, near the village of Muker in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, England. The ravine and beck run steeply downhill from the stream's source in Arn Gill Head, and the beck disgorges into the River Swale below.
The geology of the Yorkshire Dales National Park in northern England largely consists of a sequence of sedimentary rocks of Ordovician to Permian age. The core area of the Yorkshire Dales is formed from a layer-cake of limestones, sandstones and mudstones laid down during the Carboniferous period. It is noted for its karst landscape which includes extensive areas of limestone pavement and large numbers of caves including Britain's longest cave network.