The River Unk is a small river in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

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 ...

that runs for before flowing into the River Clun.

Course

It rises close to the site of the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

cross dyke known as the Lower Short Ditch on the Shropshire - Powys border in the north of

Clun Forest Clun Forest is a remote, rural area of open pastures, moorland and mixed deciduous/coniferous woodland in the southwest part of the English county of Shropshire and also just over the border into Powys, Wales. It was once a Royal hunting forest ...

and flows in a generally easterly direction for around before turning southward near Lower Edenhope and heading past

Mainstone Mainstone is a small village and civil parish in southwest Shropshire, England, near the border with Powys, Wales. The village lies approximately 1 mile northwest of the small village of Cefn Einion. The market town of Bishop's Castle lies some 3 ...

Cefn Einion Cefn Einion is a dispersed hamlet in southwest Shropshire, England. It is located two miles southwest of the village of Colebatch, and lies between the small villages of Bryn and Mainstone. Cefn Einion in Welsh means Einion's Ridge; the name ' ...

, and Bicton for and joining the River Clun near the

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the town of

Clun Clun ( cy, Colunwy) is a town in south west Shropshire, England, and the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2011 census recorded 680 people living in the town.Combined populations for the two output areas covering the tow ...

Nature

The river is one of the few remaining sites in the United Kingdom where freshwater pearl mussels are found. The Environment Agency has taken land next to the banks of the river to prevent cattle entering the water and silting up the riverbed.

References

External links

U 2Unk {{England-river-stub