The River Dun, also known as the Glendun River (in
Irish: ''Abhann Duinne'', brown river) is a river in
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. It runs through
Glendun, one of the nine
Glens of Antrim. The river is named after its brown colour, which comes from the
peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
bogs at its source on the slopes of Slievenanee on the Antrim Plateau. The source of the river is a few hundred metres from that of the
River Bush, which flows north-east to meet the sea at
Bushmills.
Cushendun (''Bun Abhann Duinne'', "foot of the River Dun" in
Irish – although the English name derives from ''Cois Abhann Duinne'', "beside the River Dun") is a small
coastal resort town lying at the mouth of the River Dun and Glendun.
Glendun Viaduct
The river is spanned by the Glendun Viaduct. The arched viaduct, known locally as the Big Bridge, was built between 1834 and 1839 by workers from
County Monaghan and
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
.
Angling
The river supports a population of
brown trout which rarely attain weights exceeding one pound due to the naturally
acid
An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...
ic chemistry of the water.
Sea trout and
salmon enter the river and make their way to the upstream
spawning beds from July onwards.
Eels are also present.
See also
*
List of rivers of Ireland
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dun
Rivers of County Antrim