The River Dove is a river in

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 ...

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 rises on the North York Moors and flows south to join the River Rye, itself a tributary of the River Derwent. The upper valley of the river is known as

Farndale Farndale is a valley and community in Ryedale district, North Yorkshire, England, which is known for the daffodils which flower each spring along a stretch of the River Dove. The valley is in the North York Moors National Park, some nor ...

. The name is of

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 ...

Celtic origin, meaning "dark river". Its principal tributary is the

Hodge Beck Hodge Beck is a stream that flows through the North York Moors national park in North Yorkshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove which it joins near Welburn south of Kirkbymoorside. The beck is long and has a total catchment a ...

Course

The river flows through

south-east past several small settlements to Church Houses. Here it turns south and continues meandering past Low Mill to Lowna. At

Gillamoor Gillamoor is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated about north of Kirkbymoorside on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. The population of the parish as taken a ...

it heads south-east again past

Hutton-le-Hole Hutton-le-Hole is a small village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, about north-west of Pickering. It is a popular scenic village within the North York Moors National Park. Sheep roam the streets at will ...

before returning southwards past Ravenswick and to the east of

Kirkbymoorside Kirkbymoorside () is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district in North Yorkshire, England. It is north of York, It is also midway between Pickering and Helmsley, on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. It had a populat ...

. It continues past Keldholme and Kirkby Mills to Great Edstone. From there it flows south south-east to where it joins the River Rye in the

Vale of Pickering The Vale of Pickering is a low-lying flat area of land in North Yorkshire, England. It is drained by the River Derwent. The landscape is rural with scattered villages and small market towns. It has been inhabited continuously from the Mesolithic ...

near the village of Salton. The Environment Agency have a gauging station at Kirkby Mills where the average low river level is and the high river level with a record high level of . The record high level shows the river can be susceptible to flooding.

Geography

Both the River Dove and Hodge Beck are partly swallowed by the local

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials ( gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characteris ...

and issue again further down the valley. During summer months the bed of Hodge Beck often runs dry. The soil in the valley floor is loam over clay. The bedrock is

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

limestone with some sandstone.

Leisure

Between Church Houses and Low Mill in Farndale, the River Dove is popular with walkers due to its picturesque setting. The banks of the river are known for their wild daffodils which are rumoured to have been planted by monks from nearby

Rievaulx Abbey Rievaulx Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Rievaulx, near Helmsley, in the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England. It was one of the great abbeys in England until it was seized in 1538 under Henry VIII during the Dissolutio ...

. Along this part of the valley is ''The Farndale Daffodil Walk'', an circular walk starting at Lowna Bridge.

In literature

William Wordsworth's poem, She dwelt among the untrodden ways from the

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

series of poems refers to the eponymous Lucy living close to the "''springs of Dove''", a possible reference to the source of the river, but could equally pertain to the either the River Dove in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

or in

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 ...

, as Wordsworth knew of all three of them.

Lists

Tributaries

* Middle Heads * Gill Beck * Gill Dike * Oak Beck * Low Dike * Green Slack Dike * Fish Beck * West Gill Beck * Lapa Green Dike * Yealand Rigg Slack * Shortsha Beck * Hodge Beck * Carr Dike

Settlements

* Church Houses * Low Mill * Lowna * Gillamoor * Hutton-le-Hole * Ravenswick * Kirkbymoorside * Keldholme * Kirkby Mills * Great Edstone * Salton

Crossings

* Thorn Wath Bridge, Church Houses * Mill Bridge (foot) * Waste Bridge, Low Mill * Mercer's Bridge (foot) * Dale End Bridge (foot) * Birch Hagg Bridge * Lowna Bridge, Lowna * Yoadwath Ford * Unnamed road, Ravenswick * Keldholme Bridge, Keldholme * A170, Kirkbymoorside * Unnamed road near Salton

Gallery

File:Ford through the River Dove - geograph.org.uk - 1523167.jpg, Ford through the River Dove File:Footbridge Over the River Dove - geograph.org.uk - 409849.jpg, Footbridge Over the River Dove File:Ford on the River Dove - geograph.org.uk - 108787.jpg, Ford on the River Dove File:River Dove - geograph.org.uk - 842369.jpg, River Dove near Birch Hagg House File:Fishing Beat No.3 on the River Dove near Sparrow Hall - geograph.org.uk - 204371.jpg, Fishing Beat on the River Dove near Sparrow Hall