River Washburn
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The River Washburn 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 ...
in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
,
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 originates high in the
Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the 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 rising from the Vale of York w ...
and ends where it meets the
River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...
. It lies within the
Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The Nidderdale AONB is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Yorkshire, England, bordering the Yorkshire Dales National Park to the east and south. It comprises most of Nidderdale itself, part of lower Wharfedale, the Washburn valley a ...
.


Name

The earliest recorded form of the river's name was ''Walkesburn'', from the early 12th century. The name is thought to come from an
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 ...
personal name ''Walc'', not otherwise recorded, so means "stream of a man named Walc".


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source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person,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 at Washburn Head, just south of Stump Cross Caverns and from there flows southwards via Thruscross Reservoir,
Blubberhouses Blubberhouses is a small village and civil parish located in the Washburn Valley in the borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, a county in the north of England. The population as at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in th ...
,
Fewston Reservoir Fewston Reservoir is located in the Washburn valley north of Otley and west of Harrogate in Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1879. The capacity is about 3.5 million cubic metres. It can be found from the A59 road. The overflow from the rese ...
,
Swinsty Reservoir Swinsty Reservoir is a reservoir in the Washburn valley north of Otley and west of Harrogate in Yorkshire, England. Construction began in 1871 and was completed in 1878. The capacity is about 866 million gallons, with a surface area of 63 hect ...
and
Lindley Wood Reservoir Lindley Wood Reservoir is located in the Washburn valley north of Otley in Yorkshire, England. History The reservoir was built by navvies Navvy, a clipping of navigator ( UK) or navigational engineer ( US), is particularly applied to d ...
before joining the
River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...
just north-west of
Pool-in-Wharfedale Pool-in-Wharfedale or Pool in Wharfedale, usually abbreviated to Pool, is a village and civil parish in the Lower Wharfedale area, north of Leeds city centre, north-east of Bradford, and east of Otley. It is in the City of Leeds metropolit ...
.


Reservoirs

The Washburn has been dammed to a series of four reservoirs, all built to supply water to the city of
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
. The lower three ( Lindley Wood, Swinsty and
Fewston Fewston is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated north of Otley and close to Swinsty and Fewston reservoirs. The Church of St Michael and St Lawrence is the village church. The maj ...
) were built at the end of the 19th century, while the fourth, Thruscross, was delayed until the 1960s. Fewston and Swinsty Reservoirs have a surface area of around and a combined length of and Thackray Beck and Spinksburn Beck are major tributaries flowing into these reservoirs. Capelshaw Beck is the main tributary flowing into Thruscross reservoir.


Geology

Where the valley has not been flooded to make reservoirs, the sides are 'V' shaped. The valley floor consists of solid Millstone Grit overlain with till drift. The drainage can be described as slowly permeable and seasonally waterlogged. The bedrock is covered with fine loam over clay soils and some peat soils at higher elevations on the fringe of the moorland.


Geography

The river valley has grassland that is intensively managed for livestock. There are also a range of field sizes, bounded by stonewalls often reinforced with post and wire fencing plus some post and rail fencing. There are very large forestry conifer plantations around the reservoirs as well as at Beecroft Moor Plantation, with conifer shelterbelts at Carlhow Ridge Plantation. Deciduous tree clumps can be found around settlements. Ancient Semi-Natural woodland can still be seen at
Blubberhouses Blubberhouses is a small village and civil parish located in the Washburn Valley in the borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, a county in the north of England. The population as at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in th ...
, Folly Hall Wood, Hanging Wood and Ellers Wood. There is evidence of past quarrying of local stone for buildings and walls. The river valley is crossed by the Harrogate Dales Way Link.


Kayaking

The section of the river between Thruscross Reservoir and Fewston Reservoir is used for
whitewater kayaking Whitewater kayaking is an adventure sport where a river is navigated in a decked kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles. River running; where the paddler follows a river and paddles rapids as they travel. Creeking usually involving s ...
when water is released 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 ...
.


Heritage Centre

The Washburn Heritage Centre, adjacent to Fewston Church, opened in February 2011.


Further reading

*The Washburn by Tom Bradley (published 1895, reprinted 1988) *Washburn Valley Yesterday Vol II by David Alred.


See also

*
List of rivers of the United Kingdom For details of rivers of the United Kingdom, see * List of rivers of England * List of rivers of Scotland * List of rivers of Wales * Northern Ireland: see List of rivers of Ireland and Rivers of Ireland * Longest rivers of the United Kingdom Ov ...


References

{{authority control
Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influen ...
Canoeing and kayaking venues in the United Kingdom