The River Dove (, ) is the principal river of the southwestern
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...
, in the
Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
of England and is around in length. It rises on
Axe Edge Moor
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, across ...
near
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level. and flows generally south to its
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
with the
River Trent
The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...
at Newton Solney. From there, its waters reach the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
via the
Humber Estuary
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...
. For almost its entire course it forms the boundary between the counties of
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
(to the west) and
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
(to the east). The river
meanders
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank w ...
past
Longnor and
Hartington and cuts through a set of deep
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
gorge
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
s, Beresford Dale, Wolfscote Dale,
Milldale and
Dovedale
Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove, Central England, River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale ...
.
The river is a famous
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
stream.
Charles Cotton
Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from the French, for his contributions to ''The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential ''The Comp ...
's Fishing House, which was the inspiration for
Izaak Walton's ''
The Compleat Angler
''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London.
Walton continu ...
'', stands in the woods by the river near Hartington.
The river's name is now usually pronounced to rhyme with "love", but its original pronunciation rhymed with "rove". This pronunciation is still used by some residents of the lower reaches of the river.
Dovedale
From
Hartington to its confluence with the
River Manifold
The River Manifold is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove (which also flows through the Peak District, forming the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire).
The Manifold rises at Flash Head just sout ...
at
Ilam, the river flows through a series of scenic
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
valleys, known collectively as Dovedale. Dovedale is also particularly used for the name of that section between the stepping stones under
Thorpe Cloud
Thorpe Cloud is an isolated limestone hill (a reef knoll) lying between the villages of Thorpe and Ilam on the Derbyshire/ Staffordshire border at the southern end of Dovedale. It is a popular hill amongst the many day-trippers who visit the a ...
and
Milldale. The
Dovedale
Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove, Central England, River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale ...
gorge is considered so scenic that it attracts a million visitors a year. Good riverside paths make the whole route accessible to walkers.
![River Dove at Milldale](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/River_Dove_at_Milldale.jpg)
Much of the dale is in the ownership of the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, being part of their
South Peak Estate
The White Peak Estate (previously known as the South Peak Estate) of the National Trust comprises several land holdings in the Southern Peak District. The holdings, totaling some , are managed from the estate office in Ilam and comprise:
*Ilam ...
. Dovedale itself was acquired in 1934, with successive properties being added until 1938, and Wolfscote Dale in 1948. Dovedale was declared a
national nature reserve in 2006.
Dovedale's attractions include rock pillars such as Ilam Rock,
Viator's Bridge
Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale in the north and a wooded r ...
, and the limestone features Lovers' Leap and Reynard's Cave.
[
]
Lower Dove
Once the river leaves Dovedale it combines with the
Manifold
In mathematics, a manifold is a topological space that locally resembles Euclidean space near each point. More precisely, an n-dimensional manifold, or ''n-manifold'' for short, is a topological space with the property that each point has a n ...
and enters a wider valley near
Thorpe. The valley increases in size as the river continues south to reach
Mapleton Mapleton may refer to:
Places Australia
* Mapleton, Queensland, a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region
Canada
* Mapleton, New Brunswick, a rural community in Kings County
* Mapleton, Moncton, New Brunswick, a neighborhood
* Maple ...
and then
Mayfield, where it is crossed by the medieval Hanging Bridge. At this point it is joined by the
Bentley Brook
Bentley Brook is a stream in Derbyshire, England. It rises on Matlock Moor, flowing south through Cuckoostone Dale, under the A632, into Lumsdale, gathering the valley's waters—notably from Knabhall Brook, out of Tansley, itself dammed and s ...
, and then nearby at
Church Mayfield, by the
Henmore Brook
The Henmore Brook or the River Henmore is a tributary of the River Dove in Derbyshire, England, and is 20 km (12 miles) in length.
In its upper reaches it is known as the Scow brook, much of which was inundated by the Carsington Water res ...
.
The Dove now flows in a south-westerly direction, passing
Norbury
Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross.
Etymology
The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note tha ...
and
Ellastone
Ellastone is a rural village in the West Midlands of England on the Staffordshire side of the River Dove, between Uttoxeter and Ashbourne in north Staffordshire.
Geography
Ellastone lies on the River Dove and is a hive of fluvial activity. ...
, where it turns south until it reaches
Rocester
Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border.
Geography
The village is about north of Uttoxet ...
. To the south of the village, at Combridge it is joined by its largest tributary the
River Churnet
The River Churnet is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove.
Etymology
The origins of the name "Churnet" are unknown, though it is thought to derive from the pre-English, British name for the river.
Course ...
. As it reaches the ancient
Dove Bridge, it is joined by the
River Tean, the river now meandering through a wide valley which turns east as it passes between
Doveridge
Doveridge is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, near the border with Staffordshire and about east of Uttoxeter. Its name may come from its having a bridge over the river Dove (i.e. Dove(B)ridge), a tributary of the River ...
and
Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town in the East Staffordshire district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. It is situated from Burton upon Trent, from Stafford, from Stoke-on-Trent, from De ...
; the only town along its length.
Beyond this point riverside communities, such as
Marchington
Marchington is a small village in East Staffordshire, England. It lies between the towns of Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter. Marchington has a small community-run shop, a first school, two churches and two pubs. The population of the village wa ...
,
Sudbury and
Scropton
Foston and Scropton is a civil parish in the Dove valley in South Derbyshire. It includes the village of Scropton and hamlet of Foston. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 728 increasing to 854 at the 2011 Census.
The Dome ...
, tend to be located at the edge of the valley; although the village of
Hatton
Hatton may refer to:
Places Canada
* Hatton, Saskatchewan
England
* Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish
* Hatton, Derbyshire
* Hatton, Lincolnshire
* Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Hounslow
* Hatton, Shropshire, a ...
encroaches across the valley floor, where it is linked by a bridge to
Tutbury
Tutbury is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is north of Burton upon Trent and south of the Peak District. The village has a population of about 3,076 residents. It adjoins Hatton, Derbyshire, H ...
whose
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
overlooks the crossing. The river continues east passing the villages of
Marston,
Rolleston Rolleston may refer to:
Places
* Rolleston, Queensland, Australia
* Rolleston, Leicestershire, England
* Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, England
** Rolleston railway station
* Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire, England
** Rolleston Hall
* Rolleston, ...
and
Egginton
Egginton is a village and civil parish in the local government district of South Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 574.
Location
The village is located just off Ryknild Street, otherwise known as ...
, where it is joined by its last tributary, the
Hilton Brook
The Hilton Brook or Sutton Brook is a tributary of the River Dove in Derbyshire, England, and is 26 kilometres (16 miles) long. Like many watercourses in the area, it has multiple names, often being named locally after the village it flows past ...
. The river is divided at this point, with some flow passing through the mill fleam at Clay Mills, the two arms rejoin downstream of the A38 road bridge and
Monks Bridge, and then to the south, the Dove reaches its confluence with the River Trent, at
Newton Solney
Newton Solney is a small village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England, located about two miles (3 km) from the East Staffordshire border, near to Burton upon Trent. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 659. I ...
.
Tributaries
![Tutbury - Mill Fleam Sluice](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Tutbury_-_Mill_Fleam_Sluice.jpg)
Alphabetical list of tributaries, extracted from the Water Framework Directive list of water bodies for the River Dove:
*Alders Brook which joins the Dove near
Rocester
Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border.
Geography
The village is about north of Uttoxet ...
*
Bentley Brook
Bentley Brook is a stream in Derbyshire, England. It rises on Matlock Moor, flowing south through Cuckoostone Dale, under the A632, into Lumsdale, gathering the valley's waters—notably from Knabhall Brook, out of Tansley, itself dammed and s ...
*
River Churnet
The River Churnet is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove.
Etymology
The origins of the name "Churnet" are unknown, though it is thought to derive from the pre-English, British name for the river.
Course ...
*Foston Brook which joins the Dove near
Rocester
Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border.
Geography
The village is about north of Uttoxet ...
*
Henmore Brook
The Henmore Brook or the River Henmore is a tributary of the River Dove in Derbyshire, England, and is 20 km (12 miles) in length.
In its upper reaches it is known as the Scow brook, much of which was inundated by the Carsington Water res ...
*
Hilton Brook
The Hilton Brook or Sutton Brook is a tributary of the River Dove in Derbyshire, England, and is 26 kilometres (16 miles) long. Like many watercourses in the area, it has multiple names, often being named locally after the village it flows past ...
*
River Manifold
The River Manifold is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove (which also flows through the Peak District, forming the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire).
The Manifold rises at Flash Head just sout ...
*Marchington Brook which joins the Dove near
Marchington
Marchington is a small village in East Staffordshire, England. It lies between the towns of Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter. Marchington has a small community-run shop, a first school, two churches and two pubs. The population of the village wa ...
*Marston Brook which joins the Dove near
Marchington
Marchington is a small village in East Staffordshire, England. It lies between the towns of Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter. Marchington has a small community-run shop, a first school, two churches and two pubs. The population of the village wa ...
*Picknall Brook which joins the Dove near
Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town in the East Staffordshire district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. It is situated from Burton upon Trent, from Stafford, from Stoke-on-Trent, from De ...
*Rolleston Brook which joins the Dove near
Rolleston on Dove
Rolleston on Dove, also known simply as Rolleston, is a village in Staffordshire, England near Burton upon Trent. Sir Oswald Mosley, the founder of the British Union of Fascists spent some of his earlier years at the family seat here. Rolles ...
*
River Tean
*Tit Brook which joins the Dove near
Ellastone
Ellastone is a rural village in the West Midlands of England on the Staffordshire side of the River Dove, between Uttoxeter and Ashbourne in north Staffordshire.
Geography
Ellastone lies on the River Dove and is a hive of fluvial activity. ...
See also
*
Rivers of the United Kingdom
For details of rivers of the United Kingdom, see
* List of rivers of England
* List of rivers of Scotland
* List of rivers of Wales
* Northern Ireland: see List of rivers of Ireland and Rivers of Ireland
* Longest rivers of the United Kingdom
Ov ...
*
List of rivers of England
This is a list of rivers of England, organised geographically and taken anti-clockwise around the English coast where the various rivers discharge into the surrounding seas, from the Solway Firth on the Scottish border to the Welsh Dee on the Wel ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dove
Rivers of Derbyshire
Rivers of Staffordshire
Rivers and valleys of the Peak District
Tributaries of the River Trent