River Etherow
River Etherow | |
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The Etherow (left), joined by the Black Cloughs from Bleaklow. | |
![]() The River Etherow is highlighted in red (click to enlarge) Coordinates: 53°27′54″N 1°58′51″W / 53.464956°N 1.980954°W | |
Location | |
Country | England |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Featherbed Moss, South Yorkshire |
• elevation | 500 m (1,600 ft) |
Mouth | |
• location | River Goyt |
• elevation | 80 m (260 ft) |
Length | 30 km (19 mi) |
Basin size | 77.7 km2 (30.0 sq mi) |
The River Etherow is a
Course
The modern accepted start of the
Natural history
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Etherow_Hollingworth_123047_d5a5762d.jpg/170px-Etherow_Hollingworth_123047_d5a5762d.jpg)
The upper reaches of the River Etherow pass through
Geology
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Geologyofglossop.svg/220px-Geologyofglossop.svg.png)
Longdendale is a steep-sided V-shaped valley that is
History
The Etherow valley was an important trans-Pennine route, and in AD 78 the
A packhorse route (known as a saltway) was maintained from the Middle Ages onwards to allow the export of salt from the Cheshire towns of Nantwich, Northwich and Middlewich across the Pennines. The saltway followed the Etherow to Ladyshaw, and at Salters Brook (SK137999) it forked, with one route leading to Wakefield and another to Barnsley.[9]
Water was an important source of power for industry, and the Etherow and its tributaries were fast flowing and constant.
From 1782 to 1820, water-powered
Etymology
The name Etherow could be of Brittonic Celtic origin and derived from the ancient term *ador, meaning "watercourse, channel".[12] The settlement-name Tintwistle, however, implies that Etherow may be an Old English replacement for an earlier name of the *Tin- type (see River Tyne), derived from the hydronym *edre, which is possibly related to ēdre, "vein".[12]
Economy
The Longdendale Chain of reservoirs comprises three impounding reservoirs,
Woodhead railway line
The Woodhead Line, which followed the river from
Recreation
Walking and cycling
Following the closure of the railway line, the trackbed was taken up and the
The circular walk known as 'The Longdendale Edges' takes in the high ground (at about the 1,000 feet (300 m)-1,500 feet (460 m) level) on both sides of the valley. It is about 17 miles (27 km) long and is 'not recommended in doubtful weather'.[citation needed] The detailed route, clockwise from Crowden Youth Hostel, is given in Peak District Walking Guide No.2, published by the Peak Park Planning Board.[citation needed]
Sailing
Torside Reservoir is home to Glossop & District Sailing Club and Etherow Country Park is the home to Etherow Country Park Sailing Club.[14][15]
Country Park
Etherow Country Park, in Compstall, close to the mouth of the Etherow, opened in 1968 as one of the UK's first country parks.[citation needed] Originally it was an industrial area incorporating a mine, a mill and a mill pond. The River Etherow flows through the park and is the source for the mill pond. Etherow Country Park is associated with many local groups, including a small local community group, the Friends of Etherow, anglers, the afore-mentioned sailing club, and a model boat club.
Compstall Nature Reserve is a 12.8-hectare (32-acre) region of the park which is designated a
Tributaries and route map
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The Etherow has no major tributaries; it is fed by numerous brooks and streams from the cloughs flowing off Kinder Scout, Bleaklow and Black Hill. Minor left tributaries are:
- Black Clough
- Shining Clough
- Wildboar Clough
- Torside Clough
- Glossop Brook
- Shell Brook
- Hurst Brook
- Gnats Hole Brook
- Chisworth Brook
- Mortin Clough
Minor right tributaries are:
- Salters Brook
- Heyden Brook
- Crowden Brook
- Hollingworth Brook
- Arnfield Brook
- Ogden Brook
- Gigg Brook
See also
- Rivers of the United Kingdom
- List of mills in Longdendale and Glossopdale
References
Notes
- ^ Quayle 2006b, p. 85
- ^ This brook takes in waters from the Shelf Brook, Hurst Brook and others.
- ISBN 9780711233638.
- ^ John Stockdale, 1794, Map of the Environs of Mottram-in-Longdendale
- ^ Peak District National Park, Peak District National Park: Study Area Fact sheets 21, archived from the original on 18 September 2008, retrieved 28 November 2008
- ^ a b "Compstall Nature Reserve citation sheet" (PDF), English Nature, retrieved 27 October 2006
- ^ Radcliffe, Gemma (2004), "Management Plan for Glossop Brook", University of Manchester, Masters Thesis: 54–55, retrieved 10 July 2008[permanent dead link]
- river name of the Mersey, says that he has not found the name Etherow applied to this water earlier than Rev. John Watson's description of Melandra Castle in Archeologia, vol. 3:236 (1775), siting the Castle "on the south side of the river Mersey (or, as some call it the Edrow) near Woolley Bridge, in the parish of Glossop". The editor surmises (p.99a) that the use of Etherow "has been strengthened by the necessity of the localisation of this portion of the river, in consequence of its having been adopted by the Manchester Corporation for its water supply".
- ^ On-site information board.
- ^ Scott, Smith & Winterbottom 1973, p. .
- ^ Quayle 2006a, p. 20
- ^ a b James, Alan. "A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence" (PDF). SPNS – The Brittonic Language in the Old North. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Signed Cycle Routes in Manchester, Manchester City Council, archived from the original on 11 January 2008, retrieved 25 January 2008
- ^ Glossop Saling Club home page Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 7 December 2008
- ^ Anon, Etherow Country Park Sailing Club, ECPSC, retrieved 7 December 2008
Bibliography
- Quayle, Tom (2006a), Manchester's Water: The reservoirs in the hills, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing, ISBN 0-7524-3198-6
- Quayle, Tom (2006b), The Cotton Industry in Longdendale and Glossopdale, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-3883-2
- Scott; Smith; Winterbottom (1973), Glossop Dale, Manor and Borough, Glossop and District historical Society
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)