The Wych Brook, Worthenbury Brook and Red Brook, formerly known as the River Elfe, is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

of the River Dee in

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 ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, forming part of both the historic and present-day

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

between the two countries. The stream forms part of the border between

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

and

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 ...

in England to the east, and

, particularly the Maelor Saesneg (a detached portion of Historic Flintshire, now within

Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is a county borough, with city status, in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east and south-east, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the no ...

), to the west.

Course and landscape

The Wych Brook rises (as the "Red Brook") at Fenn's Moss on the Wrexham County Borough / Shropshire border, and flows northward and westward through a steep-sided, wooded valley to

Threapwood Threapwood is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is close to the villages of Shocklach, Worthenbury and Malpas. Etymology, history Threap ...

, being joined by several smaller streams such as the Grindley Brook, which rises near the village of the same name, and the Iscoyd Brook. Near the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, villag ...

of Willington Worthenbury it is joined by the Emral Brook, and runs northward to the Dee (as the "Worthenbury Brook") near

Shocklach Shocklach is a village in the civil parish of Shocklach Oviatt and District, in the Cheshire West and Chester district, in the county of Cheshire, England. Shocklach village is in the southwestern corner of Cheshire, approximately from the bord ...

. The Emral Brook itself rises near Penley and is joined by a number of tributary streams which drain the central part of Maelor Saesneg. The middle section of the river valley, which has eroded deeply into an underlying glacial drift of

boulder clay Boulder clay is an unsorted agglomeration of clastic sediment that is unstratified and structureless and contains gravel of various sizes, shapes, and compositions distributed at random in a fine-grained matrix. The fine-grained matrix consists ...

, sands and gravels, is the narrowest and deepest, particularly between Dymock's Mill and Lower Wych. The river landscape is characterised by ancient mixed

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

woodland, unintensively-farmed lowland pasture and rush pasture. The English side of the valley is designated as an Area of Special County Value. Wych Brook Valley - geograph

The Wych Brook was formerly known as the River Elfe or Elf. The origin of the name "Elfe" is in this case unknown, though the name "Wych" is thought to derive from

saline Saline may refer to: * Saline (medicine), a liquid with salt content to match the human body * Saline water, non-medicinal salt water * Saline, a historical term (especially US) for a salt works or saltern Places * Saline, Calvados, a commune in ...

springs in the area. There were formerly a number of natural salt springs or 'brine pits' near the river bank at Higher Wych and Lower Wych, which from medieval times were used as a water source for commercial salt production.Lee, "Iscoyd in Maelor Saesneg], ''Archaeologia Cambrensis'', XXVI, April 1876, p.92 It has been speculated that the river name ''Elfe'' is based on the Welsh language root ''hal-'', ''halen'', "salt".

Ecology

The river is a habitat for a variety of fish including

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...

common dace The common dace (''Leuciscus leuciscus'') is a species of freshwater and brackish water ray-finned fish from the family Cyprinidae which is native to Europe but which has been introduced to other parts of the world. It is a quarry species for coa ...

, the gudgeon ''

Gobio gobio ''Gobio gobio'', or the gudgeon, is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. This small fish is widely distributed in fresh-water streams and lakes across central and temperate Eurasia. The gudgeon inhabits various fresh-water habitats with ...

'',

stone loach The stone loach (''Barbatula barbatula'') is a European species of fresh water ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. It is one of nineteen species in the genus '' Barbatula''. Stone loaches live amongst the gravel and stones of fast f ...

and common minnow. There is an unusual isolated population of

dormice A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hi ...

in the Wych Valley, as a result of an introduction of animals in 1996/7.Dormouse
Cheshire Region Biodiversity Partnership

References

{{authority control Rivers of Cheshire Rivers of Shropshire Rivers of Wrexham County Borough 2Wych