The River Goyt is a tributary of the River Mersey in

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

Etymology

The name ''Goyt'' may be derived from the Middle English ''gote'', meaning "a watercourse, a stream". Derivation from the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

''gwyth'' meaning "vein" has been suggested, but described as "doubtful".

Course

The Goyt rises on the moors of

Axe Edge Axe Edge Moor is the major moorland southwest of Buxton in the Peak District. It is mainly gritstone ( Namurian shale and sandstone). Its highest point () is at . This is slightly lower than Shining Tor (which is some to the northwest, acros ...

, near the

River Dane The River Dane is a tributary of the River Weaver that originates in the Peak District area of England. The name of the river (earlier ''Daven'') is probably from the Old Welsh ''dafn'', meaning a "drop or trickle", implying a slow-moving river. ...

and the Cat and Fiddle Inn. The area is known as the Upper Goyt Valley. The old Cat and Fiddle Road from Buxton to

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

crosses the river just as it turns northwards to flow down its well-known valley. The river then flows under Derbyshire Bridge, which was the old boundary between Derbyshire and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. Later it reaches an old packhorse bridge that was moved when Errwood reservoir was built in the 1960s (see photo below). Further downstream there is another reservoir, the Fernilee Reservoir, built in 1938. The original line of the

Cromford and High Peak Railway The Cromford and High Peak Railway (C&HPR) was a standard-gauge line between the Cromford Canal wharf at High Peak Junction and the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge. The railway, which was completed in 1831, was built to carry minerals and goo ...

can be seen near this point. The Goyt then passes through Taxal and Horwich End where it is joined by the

Todd Brook Todd Brook is a small river running through the England, English county, counties of Cheshire and Derbyshire. The Brook rises beneath Shining Tor on the border between the two counties and flows northwards through east Cheshire, passing by Jen ...

. Thereafter it passes through Whaley Bridge, New Mills (where it is joined by the River Sett) and Marple Bridge. Having been joined by the River Etherow, the Goyt joins the River Tame at

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

, forming the River Mersey. The section of the Goyt valley between Etherow Country Park and Whaley Bridge is followed by the Goyt Way, a walking route and part of the longer Midshires Way. The River Goyt is reputedly haunted by the ghost of a girl whose Royalist lover drowned in the river.

Pollution

The river's

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

pollution classification changed from moderate to poor in its lower section from the Etherow to the Mersey in 2016, and in 2015 for the New Mills to Whaley Bridge length. Otherwise the quality is moderate.

Tributaries

*Poise Brook (L) **Ochreley Brook (R) *Torkington Brook (L) **Marple Brook (R) *Padden Brook ? *St Chad's Brook ? * River Etherow (R) *Marple Bridge Brook ? (R) *Hollywood Brook ? (R) *Mellor Brook ? (R) *Linnet Brook ? (R) *Strines Brook ? (R) *Higgin's Brook ? (L) * River Sett (R) ** River Kinder (R) ***Upper Brook ? (L) ***William Brook ? (R) ***Blackshaws Brook ? (L) ***Red Brook (L) *Shedyard Brook ? (R) *Waterside Brook ? (R) *Green Botham Brook ? (R) *Todd Brook (L) **Gnathole Brook (L) **Carr Brook (R) *Randal Carr Brook (R) **Meveril Brook (L) ***Brook Houses Brook (R)

Etymology

Course

Pollution

Tributaries

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading