The River Plym is a

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 ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. It runs from

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...

in the centre of the county southwest to meet the

River Meavy The River Meavy is a river in the southwest part of Dartmoor in Devon in south-west England. It runs entirely in the national park and connects Burrator Reservoir to the River Plym. Course The river is long, and flows in a generally south-wes ...

, then south towards

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

. The river is popular with canoeists, and the Plym Valley Railway runs alongside a section of the river.

Course

The river's

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

is around above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

, in an upland marshy area called Plym Head. From the upper reaches, which contain

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

and

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

remains, the river flows roughly southwest past clay workings at

Shaugh Prior Shaugh Prior is a village and civil parish on the south-western side of Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England. It is situated about 8 miles north-east of the historic centre of the city of Plymouth. In 2001 its population was 751. The parish ...

to The

Dewerstone Dewerstone is the site of an Iron Age Hill fort on a rocky promontory overlooking the River Plym on the South West edge of Dartmoor to the North of Plympton in Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and no ...

, where it meets the

. The course then changes to run southwards, between

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Plym ...

passing through 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 ...

owned

Plymbridge Woods Plymbridge Woods is a woodland in Plympton, Devon, England managed by The National Trust. The woods are named after the historic Plymbridge, a Grade II listed bridge over the River Plym. Drake's Trail passes through the woods providing a cycling ...

and under the ancient Plym Bridge. Its upper tidal estuary is known as the

Laira Laira – previously recorded as Lare(1591), Lary poynte (1638), the Leerie (1643), and the Lairy (1802) – was originally the name given to that part of the estuary of the River Plym from the Cattewater up to Marsh Mills in Plymouth, Devon ...

and the lower part is called

Cattewater The city of Plymouth, Devon, England is bounded by Dartmoor to the north, the Hamoaze to the west, the open expanse of water called Plymouth Sound to the south and the river Plym to the east. The Cattewater is that stretch of water where the mo ...

, which is

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against dir ...

and leads towards

. It is approximately long.

Nomenclature

The name Plym is thought to have its origins in

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 ...

and means the "plum tree" ( Cornish ''ploumenn''), from a back-formation from the name of

. The port of

took its name from the river.

History

, a River-class antisubmarine frigate, was named after the river during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It carried out

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

escort duties in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

and was later destroyed in the UK's first nuclear explosion. When it was in operation, the

Cann Quarry Canal The Cann Quarry canal was a canal in Devon, England which ran for just under from Cann Quarry to the River Plym at Marsh Mills. It opened in 1829, and a short tramway connected it to the Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway at Crabtree Junction. It ha ...

left the river at Marsh Mills. The Plym Valley Railway runs alongside the River Plym. It opened in 1856 as a section of the

South Devon and Tavistock Railway The South Devon and Tavistock Railway linked Plymouth with Tavistock in Devon; it opened in 1859. It was extended by the Launceston and South Devon Railway to Launceston, in Cornwall in 1865. It was a broad gauge line but from 1876 also carried t ...

, which followed the river as far as the tributary with the River Meavy. The line closed to passengers in 1962, and goods services stopped four years later. The new railway is volunteer-run railway which operates steam and diesel hauled train rides. The first section from Plym Valley from Marsh Mills station opened in 2001, with an extension to Lee Moor Crossing in 2008. In 2013, the line was extended to Plymbridge. The remainder of the line forms part of the Plym Valley Trail, a cycle route from Plymouth to

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along the ...

Leisure

The River Plym is popular for

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

ing. The upper section in

from Cadover Bridge to Shaugh Bridge is considered challenging, and has been described by the British Canoe Union as the hardest section of river to navigate the park. It is often the first river to fill during heavy rain, and one of the first to drop afterwards. Experienced canoeists judge the water level carefully around the weather. This section has a number of pool drops, which are not recommended for novices. Lower sections beyond Shaugh Bridge to Bickleigh Bridge are easier to navigate past the first rapid, provided the river is at a sufficient water level. In addition the Plym is rich with brown trout, sea trout and salmon. Angling is allowed in both lower and upper areas with much of the water being managed by Plymouth & District Freshwater Angling Association.

References

Citations Sources * {{authority control Plym, River P

Course

Nomenclature

History

Leisure

See also

References