River Brathay

Last updated

The river near Clappersgate after heavy rain River Brathay near Clappersgate - geograph.org.uk - 70102.jpg
The river near Clappersgate after heavy rain
The river exiting Little Langdale Tarn Little Langdale Tarn and Blake Rigg.jpg
The river exiting Little Langdale Tarn
Colwith Force Colwith Force.jpg
Colwith Force

The Brathay is a river of north-west England. Its name comes from Old Norse and means broad river. It rises at a point 1289 feet (393 m) above sea level near the Three Shire Stone at the highest point of Wrynose Pass (grid reference NY277028 ) in the Lake District. Its catchment area includes the northern flanks of Wetherlam, Great Carrs and others of the Furness Fells, as well as a substantial area of the Langdale Fells.

Contents

The small stream at the top of Wrynose quickly gathers pace as it descends some 930 feet (283 m) in a distance of about two miles (3.2 km), running roughly parallel to, and south of, the Wrynose Pass road. Before flowing into Little Langdale Tarn it subsumes Bleamoss Beck, the outflow from Blea Tarn. Little Langdale Tarn is also replenished by the Greenburn Beck. The Brathay drains Little Langdale Tarn at its eastern side. It continues in an easterly direction, over Colwith Force where it falls 40 feet (12 m), before turning north and flowing into the tarn of Elter Water at an elevation of 187 feet (57 m) above sea level. Elter Water is also replenished by the Great Langdale Beck. [1]

The Brathay drains Elter Water and flows for about half a mile (0.8 km) in a south-easterly direction to Skelwith Force where it descends 15 feet (4.6 m). Passing under the A593 road at Skelwith Bridge, and continues in an easterly direction, to the hamlet of Clappersgate. After another quarter of a mile (400 m) it joins the River Rothay close to Croft Lodge south-west of Ambleside before flowing into the northern end of Windermere.

The stretches of the Brathay around Clappersgate and Skelwith Force are popular with canoeists. [2]

For its entire length the River Brathay forms part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Westmorland. Since local government re-organisation in 1974 the Brathay has been within the administrative county of Cumbria.

The river also gives its name to the Brathay estate where the Brathay Exploration Group is based, just south of its confluence with the River Rothay on the edge of Windermere.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumbria Way</span> Long-distance footpath in Cumbria, England

The Cumbria Way is a linear 112-kilometre (70-mile) long-distance footpath in Cumbria, England. The majority of the route is inside the boundaries of the Lake District National Park. Linking the two historic Cumbrian towns of Ulverston and Carlisle, it passes through the towns of Coniston and Keswick. The route cuts through Lakeland country via Coniston Water, Langdale, Borrowdale, Derwent Water, Skiddaw Forest and Caldbeck. It is a primarily low-level route with some high-level exposed sections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cold Pike</span> Fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England

Cold Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is a satellite of Crinkle Crags and stands above the Upper Duddon Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Duddon</span> River in England

The Duddon is a river of north-west England. It rises at a point 1,289 feet (393 m) above sea level near the Three Shire Stone at the highest point of Wrynose Pass. The river descends to the sea over a course of about 15 miles (24 km) before entering the Irish Sea at the Duddon Sands. In total, from source to the westernmost part of Duddon Sands, its length is 43 kilometres (27 mi). For its entire length the Duddon forms the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cumberland and since local government re-organisation in 1974 the Duddon has been in the ceremonial county of Cumbria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Rothay</span> River in Cumbria, England

The Rothay is a spate river of the Lake District in north-west England. Its name comes from Old Norse and translates literally as the red one. This has come to mean trout river. It rises close to Rough Crag above Dunmail Raise at a point about 1542 feet above sea level. Its catchment area covers Grasmere Common including Easedale Tarn, the southern flanks of Fairfield, and several of the fells to the east of Dunmail Raise, including Great Rigg, Rydal Fell, Scandale Fell and Heron Pike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Langdale</span> Valley in Cumbria, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cunsey Beck</span> River in Cumbria, England

Cunsey Beck is one of several rivers and streams that replenish the lake of Windermere in the English Lake District. Being just over two miles (3.2 km) in length and generally slow flowing, the stream descends some 87 feet from the southern end of Esthwaite Water, which it drains, to the western banks of Windermere near an island called Ling Holm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pike o' Blisco</span> Mountain in the English Lake District, Cumbria, England

Pike o' Blisco, or Pike of Blisco, is a mountain in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. Located between the valleys of Great Langdale and Little Langdale, its relative isolation from neighbouring fells together with slopes falling away immediately from the summit in all directions mean it has excellent views: the view of the Langdale Pikes across Great Langdale is particularly arresting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loughrigg Fell</span> Fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England

Loughrigg Fell is a hill in the central part of the English Lake District. It stands on the end of the long ridge coming down from High Raise over Silver How towards Ambleside, and is separated from its neighbours by the depression of Red Bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trout Beck</span> Stream in Cumbria, England

The Trout Beck is a fast flowing stream of the Lake District in North West England. It is one of the main sources of replenishment for Windermere, and is part of the Leven catchment. Its name comes from Old Norse and appears in documents from 1292 as Trutebyk. The river rises between the peaks of Stony Cove Pike and Thornthwaite Crag in the High Street range, at a height of about 1,970 feet (600 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elter Water</span> Lake in Cumbria, England

Elter Water is a small lake in the Lake District in North West England, half a mile southeast of the village of the same name. It has a length of 0.62 miles (1.00 km), maximum width of approximately 0.24 miles (0.39 km), a maximum depth of 7 metres (7.7 yd), and an area of 0.16 square kilometres (0.062 sq mi). Its outflow is the River Brathay, which flows south to join Windermere near Ambleside. Windermere is itself drained by the River Leven, which flows into Morecambe Bay. The lake is in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness and the ceremonial county of Cumbria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumbrian toponymy</span> Study of place names in Cumbria, England

Cumbrian toponymy refers to the study of place names in Cumbria, a county in North West England, and as a result of the spread of the ancient Cumbric language, further parts of northern England and the Southern Uplands of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Winster</span> River in Cumbria, England

The River Winster is a river in the English county of Cumbria. The Winster was the boundary between the ancient counties of Lancashire and Westmorland. It has a relatively small catchment area; other streams flow parallel to it on either side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Fell (Lake District)</span> Fell in the Lake District, United Kingdom

Black Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It rises to the north of Tarn Hows, between Coniston and Hawkshead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Carrs</span> Fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England

Great Carrs is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands above Wrynose Pass in the southern part of the District.

The Central Fells are a part of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lake District of England. Reaching their highest point at High Raise, they occupy a broad area to the east of Borrowdale. The Central Fells are generally lower than the surrounding hills, the Lake District's dome-like structure having a slight dip in the middle. The range extends from the boggy ridge between Derwentwater and Thirlmere in the north, to the rock peaks of the Langdale Pikes in the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Langdale</span> Valley in the Lake District, England

Little Langdale is a valley in the Lake District, England, containing Little Langdale Tarn and a hamlet also called Little Langdale. A second tarn, Blea Tarn, is in a hanging valley between Little Langdale and the larger Great Langdale to the north. Little Langdale is flanked on the south and southwest by Wetherlam and Swirl How, and to the north and northwest by Lingmoor Fell and Pike of Blisco. The valley descends to join with Great Langdale above Elter Water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Church, Brathay</span> Church in Cumbria, England

Holy Trinity Church is in Bog Lane in the village of Brathay, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Windermere, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The hilltop site for the church was recommended by William Wordsworth who, when describing it in a letter in 1836, said "there is no situation out of the Alps, nor among them, more beautiful than that where this building is placed".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stock Ghyll</span> Stream in Cumbria, England

Stock Ghyll, also known as Stock Gill, Stock Gill Beck and Stock Beck, is a stream in South Lakeland, in the ceremonial county of Cumbria and the historic county of Westmorland. It flows about four miles from Red Screes through the town of Ambleside to the River Rothay. Its course includes two long-popular tourist attractions, Stockghyll Force and Bridge House. Stock Ghyll has been painted by J. M. W. Turner, John Ruskin, Kurt Schwitters, and many others. Its name derives from Old English stocc, 'tree-trunk', and Old Norse gil, 'a deep glen'.

References

  1. Hodges, Maureen (12 December 2021). "Restoration project sees Great Langdale Beck reconnected to Elterwater". Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  2. Rainsley, Mark; Hawkesworth, Chris (14 September 2011). "River Brathay". www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2017.

54°24′56″N3°06′56″W / 54.41548°N 3.11560°W / 54.41548; -3.11560