A-Z Challenge 2018 - British Rivers: 'W' Wye, Wear, Wensum.

It's at this stage in the A-Z when I wonder Wye I started and Wear (where) I've got to and Wensum one will comment.

I started with the Wye because apart from the River Severn it has the most westerly of sources in the UK. It rises on Plynlimon in mid Wales and forms part of the border between England and Wales. Its valley is an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

River Wye at Hay on Wye looking downstream towards Hereford

On a visit to Chepstow some years ago I took a photo of the Wye from the Castle walls but as I can no longer find it I have had to make do with this shot, at low tide, instead.

River Wye at Chepstow

The River Wear is one of the longest rivers in North East England. It rises in the Pennines, flows through County Durham, the city of Durham before reaching Sunderland and the North Sea.

I've seen it often from up high on - 

Croxdale railway viaduct carrying the East Coast mainline between London and Edinburgh near Durham

Having started in Wales it's time to finish in the east.

Swans on the River Wensum

The Wensum is another of those chalk rivers I've mention in earlier posts. 71 km of its length has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation. If you have Google Earth on your computer you may see all about the Wensum.

It's a tributary of the River Yare despite being the larger of the two and it flows through the city of Norwich.

Photo attributions:

• River Wye at Hay on Wye: 29 August 2008 ex geograph.org.uk by OLU - CC BY-SA 2,0 Licence
• River Wye at Chepstow: 3 September 2003 ex geograph.org.uk by Robin Somes - CC BY-SA 2,0 Licence
• River Wear - Croxdale viaduct: 30 June 2007 by Peter G Hughes - CC BY-SA 3.0 Licence
• Swans on River Wensum: 25 January 2008 ex geograph.org.uk by Evelyn Simak - CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence.

A-Z 2018 Challenge: British Rivers - 'A': Aire, Axe

The problem with my researching British rivers is that it is easy to be sidetracked and this has happened immediately with both the Aire and the River Axe.

Horses cooling off in the River Aire

The river rises at Malham Tarn in North Yorkshire, and drains the central  Pennines to flow south-east through West Yorkshire until it joins the River Ouse. Its upper reaches are in the valley of Airedale - where the Airedale terrier originated.

But not this one!

After leaving the Pennines it crosses the Yorkshire coal field to be joined by its major tributary, the River Calder. Leeds is the principal city on its route.

The River Axe gets its name from an ancient Celtic word meaning 'abounding in fish.' I thought I knew where the river was located but now I've found there are two rivers with that name located in the South West.

One rises or rather emerges from the limestone caves at Wookey Hole.

Wookey Hole and mill leat

This flows westward and northward through Somerset, splitting into two Axes before reuniting and entering the Bristol Channel at Weston Bay.

My other Axe flows south and enters the sea on the south coast at Lyme Bay.

The river rises in Dorset but passes through Somerset and Devon. The photo taken in 2007 shows cattle standing within a meander likely to have become an island by now as the river eroded the neck. The houses are at the northern end of the town of Axminster (famous for its carpets).

Photo attributions:

• River Aire Close to Woodhouse Railway Bridge: 22 June 2005, ex geograph.org.uk, by Mick Melvin  ; CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence.
• Wookey Hole and mill leat: 18 Feb 2005, ex geograph.org.uk by Pierre Terre CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence
• River Axe (Lyme Bay): 17 May 2007, ex geograph.org.uk, by Derek Harper CC By-SA 2.0 Licence