The River Irt is a river in the county of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

in northern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It flows for from the south-western end of

Wast Water Wast Water or Wastwater () is a lake located in Wasdale, a valley in the western part of the Lake District National Park, England. The lake is almost long and more than wide. It is a glacial lake, formed in a glacially 'over-deepened' valle ...

, the deepest lake in

, leaving the lake at the foot of

Whin Rigg Whin Rigg is a fell in the English Lake District, situated in the western segment of the national park, 22 kilometres south east of the town of Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake ...

, the southern peak of the famous Wastwater Screes. The name of the river is believed to derive either from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''gyr'' which means "mud", or from the

Brittonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

words ''*ar'', "flowing", or ''*īr'', "fresh, clean, pure", suffixed with ''-ed'', a nominal suffix meaning "having the quality of...". The river forms at the confluence of Lingmell Beck and Mosedale Beck on Wasdale Head, which is on the north-western side of

Scafell Pike Scafell Pike () is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, and is part of the Southern Fells and the Scafell massif. Scafell P ...

. On its short journey to the coast, the Irt is crossed by the

Cumbria Coastal Way The Cumbria Coastal Way (CCW) is a long-distance footpath in Cumbria in northern England, following the coast from Silverdale, just over the Lancashire border, to just north of the Anglo-Scottish border. It is now part of the England Coast P ...

long-distance footpath, at

Drigg Drigg is a village situated in the civil parish of Drigg and Carleton on the West Cumbria coast of the Irish Sea and on the boundary of the Lake District National Park in the Borough of Copeland in the county of Cumbria, England. Drigg and ...

Holme

packhorse bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low Parapet#Bridge ...

. The Irt flows through the Drigg Dunes and Irt Estuary Nature Reserve before joining the River Esk and

River Mite The River Mite is a river in the county of Cumbria in northern England. The valley through which the river Mite runs is called Miterdale. The name Mite is thought to be of British origin and related to a root such as 'meigh': to urinate or dri ...

Ravenglass Ravenglass is a coastal village in the Copeland District in Cumbria, England. It is between Barrow-in-Furness and Whitehaven. Historically in Cumberland, it is the only coastal village in the Lake District National Park. It is located at the es ...

. The river is tidal up until the railway bridge that carries the

Cumbrian Coast Line The Cumbrian Coast line is a rail route in North West England, running from Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness via Workington and Whitehaven. The line forms part of Network Rail route NW 4033, which continues (as the Furness line) via Ulverston an ...

just south of railway station. In the 19th century the River Irt was famous for the extremely rare black pearls that grew in its freshwater mussels. Poaching of the pearls was thought to have led to the mussels becoming extinct in the River Irt, however, a very small number have survived. The West Cumbria Rivers Trust carried out conservation work on the river between February 2015 and February 2018 to try and protect the habitat and prevent the complete eradication of the freshwater mussel from the river.

Settlements

Nether Wasdale Nether Wasdale is a village in Cumbria, England, located in the Wasdale valley, near the River Irt and just over a mile to the west of the Wastwater lake. Notable features The main church in Nether Wasdale is St Michaels and All Angels Church ...

Santon Bridge Santon Bridge is a small village in Copeland, Cumbria, England, at a bridge over the River Irt. The civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation whi ...

Holmrook Holmrook is a linear village in the English county of Cumbria. It lies along the A595 road on the west banks of the River Irt. The B5344 road connects it to Drigg, with its railway station less than two miles to the west. Two miles north-e ...

Tributaries

* Greathall Beck * Cinderdale Beck * Black Beck *

Kid Beck Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to: Common meanings * Colloquial term for a child or other young person ** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age * Engage in joking * Young goats * The goat meat of young goats * Kidskin, lea ...

River Bleng The River Bleng is a tributary of the River Irt in the county of Cumbria in northern England. The river gives its name to the valley that it flows through which is called Blengdale. It is thought that the name Bleng is derived from the Old Nors ...

References

External links

Irt, River 1Irt {{England-river-stub