The River Lynher ( kw, Linar) (or St Germans River downstream from its confluence with the Tiddy) flows through east

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, England, and enters the

River Tamar The Tamar (; kw, Dowr Tamar) is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities. T ...

at the

Hamoaze The Hamoaze (; ) is an estuarine stretch of the tidal River Tamar, between its confluence with the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound, England. The name first appears as ''ryver of Hamose'' in 1588 and it originally most likely applied just to ...

, which in turn flows into

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

Navigation

The

normal tidal limit Head of tide, tidal limit or tidehead is the farthest point upstream where a river is affected by tidal fluctuations, or where the fluctuations are less than a certain amount. This applies to rivers which flow into tidal bodies such as oceans, ...

is a

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

upstream of

Notter Bridge Notter and Notter Bridge are adjoining hamlets in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. They are situated in the civil parish of St Stephens-by-Saltash approximately three miles (5 km) northwest of Saltash. The A38 trunk road cross ...

. St Germans is a historic fishing village situated on the River Tiddy just upstream of its confluence with the Lynher. The

Quay Sailing Club St Germans ( kw, Lannaled) is a village and civil parish in east Cornwall, England. It stands on the River Tiddy, just upstream of where that river joins the River Lynher; the water way from St Germans to the Hamoaze is also known as St Ger ...

are based at St Germans Quay. The

Queen's Harbour Master A King's Harbour Master (abbreviated as KHM, also known as Queen's Harbour Master or QHM during the reign of a female monarch) is a harbourmaster and public official in Canada and the United Kingdom. Their official responsibilities includes enfor ...

for Plymouth is responsible for managing navigation on the tidal Lynher and its tributaries (up to the normal tidal limits).

Geography

The river is about 21 miles (34 km long), rising at a height of about 920 feet (280m) on

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor ( kw, Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, ...

and flowing into the Tamar Estuary near

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

. It has four main tributaries, the largest of which is the

River Tiddy The River Tiddy ( kw, Teudhi)Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF)

. The smaller tributaries include

Deans Brook Deans Brook is a two-kilometre-long stream which runs between Mill Hill and Edgware in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a tributary of the Silk Stream, which is a tributary of the River Brent, which is a tributary of the River Thames. The br ...

Withey Brook Withey is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Chester Withey (1887–1939), American actor, film director and screenwriter * Graham Withey (born 1960), English footballer *Jeff Withey (born 1990), American basketball player * Russe ...

Marke Valley Marke is the name of a number of places. *Marke, Germany *Marke, Belgium *Marke, Nepal Marke is market center in Sharada Municipality in Salyan District in the Rapti Zone of western-central Nepal. The place formerly existing as Village Developme ...

and

Darleyford Darleyford ( kw, Rys Dowr Legh, meaning ''ford of the rock slab river'') is a hamlet in the parish of Linkinhorne in Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised a ...

streams and Kelly Brook.

Ecology

The Lynher and its tributaries are largely used for rod and line fishing, particularly for

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 ...

and Atlantic salmon. Its estuary is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and also a

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

. Many species of animals can be found here, including the

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania ...

, otter,

white-throated dipper The white-throated dipper (''Cinclus cinclus''), also known as the European dipper or just dipper, is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecie ...

avocet The four species of avocets are a genus, ''Recurvirostra'', of waders in the same avian family as the stilts. The genus name comes from Latin , 'curved backwards' and , 'bill'. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian ( Ferrarese) ...

, and

black-tailed godwit The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, '' Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and ches ...

; the triangular club-rush (

scirpus ''Scirpus'' is a genus of grass-like species in the sedge family Cyperaceae many with the common names club-rush, wood club-rush or bulrush (see also bulrush for other plant genera so-named). They mostly inhabit wetlands and damp locations. Tax ...

) also grows on the banks. The estuary, along with the

Tamar–Tavy Estuary The Tamar–Tavy Estuary is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering the tidal estuaries of the River Tamar and the River Tavy on the border between Cornwall and Devon in England, UK. Part of the Tamar estuary also forms the Tamar E ...

system and St John's Lake, form the ''Tamar Estuaries Complex''

(SPA), as well as forming part of the ''

and Estuaries''

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

(SAC). Park Wood, in the Lyhner valley south-west of Callington off the

A390 road The A390 is a road in Cornwall and Devon, England. It runs from Tavistock to north west of the city of Truro. Starting in Tavistock, it heads south-westwards towards Liskeard, crossing over the River Tamar and into Cornwall, then through Gunn ...

, is also designated an SSSI for its

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

interest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynher, River Rivers of Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Nature Conservation Review sites Cornish Killas River navigations in the United Kingdom 1Lynher

Navigation

Geography

Ecology

See also

References