The River Lowther is a small river which flows through limestone rock in

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 ...

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 is a tributary of the

River Eamont The River Eamont is a river in Cumbria, England and one of the major tributaries of the River Eden. The name of the river is from Old English (ēa-gemōt) and is a back formation from Eamont Bridge which means the ''junction of streams.'' The ...

which in turn is a tributary of the River Eden which flows into the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in ...

near

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. The Lowther begins with the confluence of the Keld Gill and the Keld Dub near the village of Keld. It flows north-west until it passes between Bampton and Bampton Grange, before turning north until it flows into the River Eamont close to Penrith. It is the main spawning area for Eden spring salmon, but is primarily a trout fishery. The river is held back by the Wet Sleddale dam, and so flows at a fairly consistent level (between 0.33 m and 1.8 m for 90% of monitoring time), with the highest level ever recorded at the River Lowther (2.93 m) occurring at Eamont Bridge, Beehive, on Sunday 6 December 2015. Its name is recorded about 1175 as ''Lauder''. It may come from

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 ...

''lǭwadr'', "a washing or bathing place", which would give it the same etymology as

Lauder The former Royal Burgh of Lauder (, gd, Labhdar) is a town in the Scottish Borders in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Berwickshire. On the Southern Upland Way, the burgh lies southeast of Edinburgh, on the western edge of the Lamme ...

, Scotland. Alternatively, it may come from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''lauðr'' + ''á'', meaning "foamy river".

Settlements

* Keld * Rosgill * Bampton Grange * Bampton * Askham * Lowther *

Eamont Bridge Eamont Bridge is a small village immediately to the south of Penrith, Cumbria, England. The village is named after the bridge over the River Eamont and straddles the boundary between the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland. One o ...

Brougham Brougham may refer to: Transport * Brougham (carriage), a light four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage * Brougham (car body), an automobile with a similar style Automobile models * Cadillac Brougham, 1987–1992 * Chrysler New Yorker Brougham, c. 1 ...

Sights and attractions

* Keld Chapel (

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 ...

), Keld *

Shap Abbey Shap Abbey was a religious house of the Premonstratensian order of Canons regular situated on the western bank of the River Lowther in the civil parish of Shap Rural, around from the village of Shap, in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. Th ...

, (English Heritage), near Shap *

Askham Hall Askham Hall is a country house near Askham in Cumbria. It is a Grade I listed building. History A peel tower was built on the site during the 14th century. It passed into the hands of the Sandford family and in 1575 Thomas Sandford had it subs ...

, Askham *

Lowther Castle Lowther Castle is a country house in the historic county of Westmorland, which now forms part of the modern county of Cumbria, England. It has belonged to the Lowther family, latterly the Earls of Lonsdale, since the Middle Ages. It is a fu ...

Castlesteads Ruins Castlesteads may refer to one of the following: * Castlesteads, Greater Manchester, an Iron Age promontory fort * Castle Folds, a Romano-British fortified settlement *Camboglanna Camboglanna (with the modern name of Castlesteads) was a Roman fort ...

, Yarnwath Woods * King Arthur's Round Table Henge, Eamont Bridge *

Mayburgh Henge Mayburgh Henge is a large prehistoric monument in the county of Cumbria in northern England. The henge is in the care of English Heritage and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is 400 metres from King Arthur's Round Table Henge. Location The ...

, Eamont Bridge *

Brougham Hall Brougham Hall is located in the village of Brougham just outside Penrith, Cumbria, England. History The de Burgham family may have held land at Brougham in Edward the Confessor's time and were allowed to keep their position after the Norman Co ...

Brocavum Roman Camp Brocavum is the Latin name of a Roman fort at Brougham near Penrith, Cumbria. The fort survives as earthworks, but no excavation of these has been carried out so far. Location and date With the rivers Eamont and Lowther flowing nearby and me ...

Brougham Castle Brougham Castle (pronounced ) is a medieval building about south-east of Penrith, Cumbria, England. The castle was founded by Robert I de Vieuxpont in the early 13th century. The site, near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, h ...

(

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

)

Tributaries

* Swindale Beck *

Haweswater Beck Haweswater Beck flows through Cumbria in England. It arises as a stream discharge from Haweswater Reservoir, at Gill Dubs, just east of the dam, and flows eastward, just north of Firth Woods, and then turns north to join the River Lowther between ...

* Gill Beck * Heltondale Beck

Gallery

File:Askham Bridge, River Lowther.JPG, The bridge over the Lowther at Askham.

References

Lowther, River 2Lowther {{England-river-stub