The River Nidd is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the River Ouse in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create

Angram Reservoir Angram Reservoir is the first of three reservoirs on the River Nidd in Upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, England, the others being Scar House Reservoir and finally the compensation reservoir Gouthwaite Reservoir. It is located at OS map refe ...

Scar House Reservoir Scar House Reservoir is the second of the three reservoirs in Upper Nidderdale, England, the others being Angram Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir. Between them they attract around 150,000 visitors a year. Angram and Scar House were built to ...

and

Gouthwaite Reservoir Gouthwaite Reservoir is a reservoir in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, England. It is one of many in the area, others include Roundhill Reservoir and Angram Reservoir. Gouthwaite's sole purpose is a compensation reservoir for the River Nidd, i.e. ...

, which attract a total of around 150,000 visitors a year. The Nidd can overflow the reservoirs, flooding the

caves A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

in the valley. In such cases the river overflows into the normally dry river bed past Lofthouse through to

. The Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trus
YDRT
has a remit to conserve the ecological condition of the River Nidd from its headwaters to the

Humber 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 th ...

estuary. The upper river valley,

Nidderdale Nidderdale, historically also known as Netherdale, is one of the Yorkshire Dales (although outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park) in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south underground and then ...

, was designated as an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

in 1994.

Course

The Nidd rises in

at Nidd Head Spring on the slopes of

Great Whernside Great Whernside is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales, England, not to be confused with Whernside, some to the west. Its summit is the highest point of the eastern flank of Wharfedale above Kettlewell. Great Whernside forms the watershed between Wh ...

in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills ri ...

. It flows east into Angram and Scar House reservoirs before turning south just downstream of Newhouses. In dry conditions the river disappears underground into the

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

known as Manchester Hole. If Scar House reservoir overflows, water flows past Manchester Hole to Goyden Pot, another sinkhole. In severe floods, the river flows past Goyden Pot down the valley. The water sinking into the

Nidderdale caves The Nidderdale Caves are a series of caves in Upper Nidderdale in North Yorkshire, England. There are two cave systems and most of the caves are in some way linked with one or the other. The smaller system is the Eglin cave system in the valley of ...

reappears at the rising Nidd Head to the south of the village of Lofthouse. Below Lofthouse the river is joined by How Stean Beck, and turns south-south-east towards

Ramsgill Ramsgill is a small village in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, England, about south-east of Lofthouse, located near Gouthwaite Reservoir. It is chiefly known for the Yorke Arms, formerly a Michelin-starred restaurant on the village green whic ...

before flowing into Gouthwaite Reservoir. Continuing on the same heading, the first major settlement is reached at

Pateley Bridge Pateley Bridge (known locally as Pateley) is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd. It is in the Yorkshire Dales an ...

. Turning more south-easterly, it flows past Glasshouses and Summerbridge, where it turns south again past Dacre Banks. Passing by Darley, the river turns east before reaching

Birstwith Birstwith is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Nidderdale, and is situated on the River Nidd. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 756 and increased to 8 ...

, where it flows south-east to

Hampsthwaite Hampsthwaite is a large village and civil parish in Nidderdale in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Nidd north west of Harrogate. In the 2011 census the parish had a population o ...

. A series of large bends in the river take the flow north, east and then south, and east again, to enter

Nidd Gorge Nidd Gorge makes up a section of the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England, in which the river enters a deep ravine with sheer, tree covered valley sides. The river as a whole flows from its source near Great Whernside in Nidderdale (part of ...

. Below the gorge, the river meanders south-east through the town of

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

, heading north and looping south again as it enters flatter terrain. Near

Little Ribston Little Ribston is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Little Ribston is located on the River Nidd, north of Wetherby and south-east of Knaresborough. The Ribston Pippin apple originated here when ...

it meanders south-easterly and easterly, crossing underneath the A1 and the

A1(M) A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capit ...

near the small village of Cowthorpe. The river continues meandering past

Cattal Cattal is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, about east of Knaresborough, and is located west of the city of York. Cattal is located on the River Nidd. Despite being a small village i ...

north-easterly towards

Moor Monkton Moor Monkton is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Nidd and north-west from York city centre. History Moor Monkton is mentioned in the Domesday Book as a small settleme ...

, towards its junction with the River Ouse at

Nun Monkton Nun Monkton is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of York at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Nidd. Cottages and houses are grouped around a village green of with ...

Water levels

* Low and high water levels are an average figure.

Reservoirs

The two most northerly reservoirs on the course of the river were built to provide water to the Bradford area in the early 1900s by way of the

Nidd Aqueduct The Nidd Aqueduct is an aqueduct or man-made watercourse in North Yorkshire, England. It feeds water from Angram and Scar House reservoirs in upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire to Bradford in West Yorkshire. The aqueduct supplies of wate ...

. As of 2017, they are maintained by

Yorkshire Water Yorkshire Water is a water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company has its ...

Angram Reservoir

The reservoir takes its name from Angram, a settlement in the township of Stonebeck Up, submerged when the reservoir was built. Completed in 1919 with a dam height of covering 34 hectares with a volume of 1,041 million gallons and a depth of .

Scar House Reservoir

A temporary village was built at Scar House to house the workers building the reservoirs and some remains can still be seen. The old Village Hall was moved to Darley, where it now serves as the local Village Hall. The dam at Scar House was completed in 1936. The dam height is 71 m (233 ft) with the reservoir covering area 70 hectares and a depth of giving a volume of 2,200 million gallons. The reservoir is fed almost exclusively from the Angram dam.

Gouthwaite Reservoir

Gouthwaite reservoir is designated a Site for Special Scientific Interest. It provides a compensation release for the river. It covers an area of .

Geology

The head of the river is located on moorland and the river character is affected by the run-off levels from the three reservoirs. The upper valley is primarily millstone grit with

fluvioglacial deposits Glaciofluvial deposits or Glacio-fluvial sediments consist of boulders, gravel, sand, silt and clay from ice sheets or glaciers. They are transported, sorted and deposited by streams of water. The deposits are formed beside, below or downstream ...

. The overlying soil is prone to water-logging due to its slow permeability, being composed of loamy soils on top of clay with peat on the top layer. Around Lofthouse there are outcrops of Upper Yoredale limestone, which is more permeable than millstone grit and has created the

Nidderdale Caves The Nidderdale Caves are a series of caves in Upper Nidderdale in North Yorkshire, England. There are two cave systems and most of the caves are in some way linked with one or the other. The smaller system is the Eglin cave system in the valley of ...

, where the river flows underground. Lower down on the flood plain, the nature of the underlying ground is

Magnesian Limestone The Magnesian Limestone is a suite of carbonate rocks in north-east England dating from the Permian period. The outcrop stretches from Nottingham northwards through Yorkshire and into County Durham where it is exposed along the coast between Ha ...

over alluvium and terrace drift deposits. On top of this is a combination of slowly permeable and well drained fine loam over clay. Where the river passes through the

, Carboniferous (

Namurian The Namurian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 326 and 313 Ma (million years ago). It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The Namurian is ...

) and

Upper Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

rock is exposed.

Etymology

The etymology of the name remains unknown but the name is either

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

Pre-Celtic The pre-Celtic period in the prehistory of Central Europe and Western Europe occurred before the expansion of the Celts or their culture in Iron Age Europe and Anatolia (9th to 6th centuries BC), but after the emergence of the Proto-Celtic languag ...

(as with most rivers in Western Europe). A derivation from Celtic meaning ''brilliant'' or ''shining'' has been suggested (as in

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

''níamda''), as has a link to the older

Indo-European root The roots of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) are basic parts of words that carry a lexical meaning, so-called morphemes. PIE roots usually have verbal meaning like "to eat" or "to run". Roots never occurred alone in the lang ...

''*-nedi'', simply meaning river. The Nidd likely shares this etymology with the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

and

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Neath (Welsh ''Nedd'') in South Wales and the town of Stratton in Cornwall (originally named Strat-Neth).

Weatherhill, Craig Craig Weatherhill (1950 or 1951 – 18 or 19 July 2020) was a Cornish antiquarian, novelist and writer on the history, archaeology, place names and mythology of Cornwall. Weatherhill attended school in Falmouth, where his parents ran a sports ...

(2009) ''A Concise Dictionary of Cornish Place-names''. Westport, Co. Mayo: Evertype; p. 65

Leisure

Along the river valley can be found the Nidderdale Museum, which is located in Pateley Bridge, and features sections about the traditional agriculture, industries, religion, transport and costume of Nidderdale. Lower down the river is the town of

, which is home to

Knaresborough Castle Knaresborough Castle is a ruined fortress overlooking the River Nidd in the town of Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England. History The castle was first built by a Norman baron in on a cliff above the River Nidd. There is documentary eviden ...

and Knaresborough Museum. There are many way-marked walking routes throughout the river valley, including the

Nidderdale Way The Nidderdale Way is a circular long distance footpath in Nidderdale in North Yorkshire, England. The trail can be started and completed anywhere on the route, but the usual starting points are Ripley, linked by the frequent route 36 bus to ...

, a 53-mile circular walk whose usual starting point is Ripley.

Lists

Tributaries

Above Angram Reservoir

* Straight Dike * Craven Sike * Long Hill Sike * Crook Dike

Flowing into Angram Reservoir

* Stone Beck * Maiden Gill Beck * Haw Gill Sike * Wising Gill Sike

Flowing into Scar House Reservoir

* Wench Gill * Shaw Gill Sike * Stand Sike * Tops Gill * Scar House Gill

Between Scar House and Gouthwaite Reservoirs

*Woo Gill * Thornet Gill * Maddering Gill * Turnacar Gill * Foggyshaw Gill * Rough Close Gill * Limley Gill * How Gill * How Stean Beck * Blayshaw Gill * Blackstone Gill * Boggle Dike * Ramsgill Beck * Lul Beck

Flowing into Gouthwaite Reservoir

* Byerbeck Gill * Knott's Gill * Colt House Gill * Riddings Gill * Stubnooks Gill * Burn Gill

Below Gouthwaite Reservoir

* Dauber Gill * Foster Beck * Rash Dike * Fosse Dike * Byril Beck * Fell Beck * Loftshaw Gill * Smelt Maria Dike * Clough Gill * Darley Beck * Fringill Dike * Old Mill Race * Tang Beck * Cockhill Beck * Ripley Beck/Old Nidd * Newton Beck * Oak Beck * Bilton Beck * Frogmire Dike * The Rampart * Gundrifs Beck * Crimple Beck/River Crimple * Broad Wath * Fleet Beck * Kirk Hammerton Beck * Pool Beck

Settlements

* Lofthouse *

Wath Wath may refer to: Places in England * Wath, Cumbria, a U.K. location * Wath (near Ripon), a village in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire * Wath, Ryedale, a village in North Yorkshire * Wath-in-Nidderdale, a village near Pateley Bridge in Har ...

Bewerley Bewerley is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, about twelve miles west of Ripon. The parish includes the urban area of Pateley Bridge west of the River Nidd (known as Bridgehouse Gate), and the vil ...

* Glasshouses * Low Laithe *

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

* Summerbridge * Dacre Banks * Darley *

Clint Clint is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Clint Alberta (1970–2002), Canadian filmmaker * Clint Albright (1926–1999), Canadian ice hockey player *Clint Alfino (born 1968), South African baseba ...

Killinghall Killinghall is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. The civil parish population taken at the 2011 census was 4,132. The village is situated approximately north of Harrogate, extending south from t ...

* Walshford * Cowthorpe * Hunsingore *

Crossings

*Angram Reservoir dam (private road) *Scar House Reservoir dam * Woodale Bridge (private road to Low and Middle Woodale) * Newhouses Bridge (unclassified road to Newhouses, Newhouses Edge and Summerstone Estate) *Thrope Farm road (private) * Unclassified road at Lofthouse * West House Farm road (private) * Nidd Bridge, Ramsgill * Wath Bridge, Wath * B6265 at Pateley Bridge * Unnamed road near Glasshouses (private) * Glasshouses Bridge, Glasshouses * B6451, Summer Bridge, Summerbridge * Ross Bridge (Toll), near Birstwith * New Bridge (packhorse bridge), near Birstwith * Wreaks Bridge, Birstwith * Hampsthwaite Bridge, Hampsthwaite * A61, near Killinghall * Killinghall Bridge, Killinghall * Nidd Viaduct (

Nidderdale Greenway The Nidderdale Greenway is a path that runs between Harrogate and Ripley in North Yorkshire, England. It uses a former railway line that ran between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge as its course. The route connects to other cycle paths including t ...

), Bilton * A59, High Bridge, Knaresborough *

Knaresborough Viaduct Knaresborough Viaduct is a viaduct in the North Yorkshire town of Knaresborough, England. The viaduct carries the Harrogate line over the River Nidd in the town. The viaduct was supposed to have opened in 1848, but the first construction collap ...

(railway), Knaresborough * B6163, Low Bridge, Knaresborough * B6164, Grimbald Bridge, Knaresborough * A658, Knaresborough * Goldsbrough Mill Farm Road * A168, Walshford Bridge, Walshford * A1M near Walshford * Cattal Bridge, Cattal * Skip Bridge, York to Harrogate/Leeds Railway Line near Kirk Hammerton * A59, New Skip Bridge near Kirk Hammerton

Gallery

File:River Nidd - geograph.org.uk - 650675.jpg, River Nidd less than 1 km from the source File:River Nidd at Lofthouse. - geograph.org.uk - 97847.jpg, River Nidd at Lofthouse File:River Nidd - geograph.org.uk - 225547.jpg, River Nidd near West House Farm File:River Nidd - geograph.org.uk - 974655.jpg, River Nidd near Pateley Bridge File:River Nidd at Glasshouses - geograph.org.uk - 289861.jpg, River Nidd at Glasshouses File:River Nidd below Dacre - geograph.org.uk - 652008.jpg, River Nidd below Dacre File:River Nidd - geograph.org.uk - 1264857.jpg, River Nidd between Birstwith and Hampsthwaite File:River Nidd - geograph.org.uk - 667173.jpg, River Nidd from Killinghall Bridge File:The River Nidd - geograph.org.uk - 986426.jpg, The River Nidd at Knaresborough File:River Nidd - geograph.org.uk - 290949.jpg, River Nidd near Tockwith Road

Sources

Ordnance Survey Maps * Lower Wharfedale & Upper Washburn Valley (297) * Nidderdale (298) * Yorkshire Dales - Northern & Central Areas (OL 30)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nidd Nidderdale Rivers of North Yorkshire 1Nidd