River Brathay near Clappersgate - geograph

The Brathay is a river of north-west

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 ...

. Its name comes 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 ...

and means ''broad river''. It rises at a point 1289 feet (393 m) 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 ...

near the Three Shire Stone at the highest point of

Wrynose Pass The Wrynose Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England between the Duddon Valley and Little Langdale. Etymology The unusual name of the pass is taken from that of the adjacent Wrynose hill, also called W ...

() in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

. Its catchment area includes the northern flanks of

Wetherlam Wetherlam (763 m) is a mountain in the English Lake District. It is the most northerly of the Coniston Fells, the range of fells to the north-west of Coniston village; its north-east slopes descend to Little Langdale. Topography Wetherla ...

Great Carrs Great Carrs is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands above Wrynose Pass in the southern part of the District. Topography The Coniston (or Furness) Fells form the watershed between Coniston Water and the Duddon valley to the west. Th ...

and others of the

Furness Fells The Furness Fells are a multitude of hills and mountains in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, the Furness Fells or High Furness is the name given to the upland part of Furness, that is, that part of Furness ...

, as well as a substantial area of the Langdale Fells. The small stream at the top of Wrynose quickly gathers pace as it descends some 930 feet (283 m) in a distance of about two miles (3.2 km), running roughly parallel to, and south of, the Wrynose Pass road. Before flowing into Little Langdale Tarn it subsumes Bleamoss Beck, the outflow from Blea Tarn. Little Langdale Tarn is also replenished by the Greenburn Beck. The Brathay drains Little Langdale Tarn at its eastern side. It continues in an easterly direction, over Colwith Force where it falls 40 feet (12 m), before turning north and flowing into the tarn of

Elter Water Elter Water is a small lake that lies half a mile (800 m) south-east of the village of Elterwater. Both are situated in the valley of Great Langdale in the English Lake District. The lake is 1030 yd (930 m) long and varies in wi ...

at an elevation of 187 feet (57 m) above sea level. Elter Water is also replenished by the Great Langdale Beck. The Brathay drains Elter Water and flows for about half a mile (0.8 km) in a south-easterly direction to Skelwith Force where it descends 15 feet (4.6 m). Passing under the A593 road at

Skelwith Bridge Skelwith Bridge is a small village in the southern area of the Lake District in Cumbria, England. Historically, Skelwith Bridge is part of Westmorland, lying on the ancient boundary with Lancashire. The civil parish is called Skelwith. Its ...

, and continues in an easterly direction, to the hamlet of

Clappersgate Clappersgate is a village in the South Lakeland district, in the county of Cumbria, England. Clappersgate is located on the B5286 road and on the River Brathay. It is near the town of Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil par ...

. After another quarter of a mile (400 m) it joins the

River Rothay The Rothay is a spate river of the Lake District in north-west England. Its name comes from Old Norse and translates literally as ''the red one''. This has come to mean ''trout river''. It rises close to Rough Crag above Dunmail Raise at a p ...

close to Croft Lodge south-west of

Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, Cumbria, Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern ...

before flowing into the northern end of

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...

. The stretches of the Brathay around Clappersgate and Skelwith Force are popular with

canoeists A canoe is a lightweight narrow watercraft, 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 Englis ...

. For its entire length the River Brathay forms part of the boundary between the historic counties of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. Since local government re-organisation in 1974 the Brathay has been within the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

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 ...

. The river also gives its name to the Brathay estate where the Brathay Exploration Group is based, just south of its confluence with the

on the edge of

References

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External links

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiAZ1a_JxXY Brathay, River Westmorland 1Brathay

See also

References

External links