Swindale Beck is a stream in

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 ...

, England. It is formed at Swindale Head where Mosedale Beck, from the slopes of Tarn Crag, joins Hobgrumble Beck from

Selside Pike Selside Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands between the valleys of Mardale and Swindale in the Far Eastern Fells. Topography Mardale (Haweswater) and Swindale run parallel S-shaped courses, trending generally to the north east ...

. The stream flows north-east along

Swindale Shap Rural is a very large, but sparsely populated, civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria in England, covering part of the Lake District National Park. It had a population of 119 in 2001, increasing to 130 at the 2011 Census. Within the ...

and joins the

River Lowther The River Lowther is a small river which flows through limestone rock in Cumbria, England. It is a tributary of the River Eamont which in turn is a tributary of the River Eden which flows into the Solway Firth near Carlisle. The Lowther begins ...

near Rosgill between

Shap Shap is a linear village and civil parish located among fells and isolated dales in Eden district, Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Westmorland. The parish had a population of 1,221 in 2001, increasing slightly to 1,264 at the 2011 ...

and Bampton. Its waters then flow via the

River Eamont The River Eamont is a river in Cumbria, England and one of the major tributaries of the River Eden. The name of the river is from Old English (ēa-gemōt) and is a back formation from Eamont Bridge which means the ''junction of streams.'' The ...

into the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in ...

. Prior to 1859, it had been straightened to clear land for grazing. In 2016, of straightened channel was replaced with of a new sinuous channel, reconnecting the stream to its surrounding floodplain. This resulted in a rapid and marked improvement in its diversity. In 2022, the project was awarded the European Riverprize.

References

External links

* Ecological restoration 1Swindale Rivers of Cumbria {{England-river-stub