Pages

Wednesday 4 April 2018

A-Z Challenge 2018 - British Rivers; 'D' Dee, Derwent

Why I chose the Dee and Derwent to write about I'm not sure. Now I find that there are four rivers for each of these names.

The Welsh Dee rises in Snowdonia and passes from North Wales into Cheshire, through the Roman town of Chester and enters the sea at the estuary between Wales and the Wirral.

In Scotland one River Dee is in Galloway, but it's the River Dee in Aberdeenshire with which I used to be familiar, driving up the A90 and over - 


Bridge of Dee
Uisge Dhè is its name in Gaelic; the Dee is one of the most famous salmon rivers in the world. In Royal Deesside it passes between Braemar and Banchory. It's this connection with the Royal Family, Queen Victoria and Balmoral that is known to so many visitors.

River Dee at Potarch (between Aboyne and Banchory)
The Cumbrian River Derwent runs through two of the district's major Lakes - Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite Lake. It empties into the Irish Sea.

The time I spent with British Rail at Derby in the 1990s gave me many closeups on Derbyshire's River Derwent. I missed out on its mainly rural route and its entry into the River Trent south of the city.

The River Derwent, River Gardens & The Council House, Derby
Despite my years in both Aberdeen and Derby I had no chance to take photos of the rivers. I regret that now - all work and no play!

Photo attributions:
  • Bridge of Dee: 19 April 2009, ex geograph.org.uk by Anne Burgess - CC BY-SA licence
  • River Dee at Potarch: April 1995, ex geograph.org.uk by Colin Smith - CC BY-SA 2.0
  • River Derwent etc, Derby: c2004 by Eamon Curry - CC BY 2.0 licence


13 comments:

Billy Blue Eyes said...

Come across both of them but never seen either

Nilanjana Bose said...

One of the Dees (didn't know there were so many!) used to be in a poem in Palgrave's Treasury. Now I'll have to go look it up or won't be able to get anything else done :)

This is a brilliant A-Z series.

JazzFeathers said...

WOW!! Such beautiful palces!

Iain Kelly said...

I was aware of the Dee in Scotland, but not the others. You think they would get a bit more creative and give them different names!
https://iainkellywriting.com/2018/04/04/d-is-for-dresden-germany/

Wendy said...

Your country is so beautiful. That Bridge of Dee looks like one sturdy structure.

Jenny said...

Interesting choice for your theme! And I enjoyed the photos of these beautiful places. Have fun with A to Z!

Raesquiggles said...

Since I live a few miles from the Welsh Dee, but on the English side, I'm rather partial to the river. Great theme - will be interested to see how you tackle the Ouses.

Anonymous said...

Dee-lightful! I had no idea there were so many of them.

My Friend Rosey - D is for Dining Out

Jui said...

Wonderful post! I loved reading about Dee.

Kristin said...

Having 4 rivers with the same name reminds me of when we lived in Idlewild, MI in Lake County. There were many lakes, and they didn't have the same name but each had a street called "Lakeshore Drive" which was a problem for the fire departments. Eventually, they changed all of them.

http://findingeliza.com/

Jo said...

Deelightful post, sorry, couldn't resist. Considering I was born in Cheshire you'd think I would know about that one at least.

Derwent I am definitely familiar with.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Bob ... the River Dee is 'so famous' for its royal fishing reaches ... and the Derwent - I know the one near Newark ... which actually I see is the Trent, of course, at that point ...

I guess so many Derwents ... as it was the Celtic word for valley thick with oaks ...

Cheers Hilary

Jemima Pett said...

Didnt know about the Galloway Dee, but always love my holidays on Royal Deeside. Especially the butteries and the tablet. :D

Jemima, blogging from A to Z on my writing inspirations