The River Blithe is a river in Staffordshire,

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 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 drai ...

of the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

and runs for around 18 miles from source to its confluence with the River Trent.

Etymology

The Origins of the name Blithe probably come from the

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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

for gentle, cheerful, quiet or merry. This is probably rooted in fact as the River runs as a gentle stream for most of its journey to the

Course

The Blithe rises in the Hills to the East of Stoke on Trent near to Heywood Grange Farm at around 800 feet above sea level. It is joined by several smaller streams as it makes its way towards Caverswall. The River though is still only a small stream at this stage. It passes the village of

Blythe Bridge Blythe Bridge is a village in Staffordshire, England, south-east of Stoke-on-Trent. Etymology Blythe Bridge is so called as it is built around the site of a bridge over the River Blithe (spelt differently from the name of the village itself), a ...

and roughly follows the Stoke to

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

Railway line until it reaches Church Leigh. The countryside is mainly agricultural and is intensively farmed. The River then turns south and flows into Blithfield Reservoir at Newton Hurst. On leaving the reservoir it flows south-east for about another 5 miles, passing the village of Hamstall Ridware until it reaches its confluence with the

at King's Bromley.

Blithfield Reservoir

The River Blithe runs into the

Blithfield Reservoir Blithfield Reservoir is a large raw water reservoir in Staffordshire, England, owned by South Staffordshire Water. Some 800 acres (324 hectares) of reservoir was formed on land sold by Baron Bagot to the South Staffordshire Water Works (SSWW) i ...

between Stafford and Burton-upon-Trent. The reservoir was constructed by the South Staffordshire Water Company and was opened in 1953.Official South Staffordshire Water Website
/ref> The reservoir is a major water source for South Staffordshire but is also utilised for a range of leisure activities from

Angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...

to Sailing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blithe Rivers of Staffordshire 1Blithe Tributaries of the River Trent

Etymology

Course

Blithfield Reservoir

See also

References