| River Etherow | |
|---|---|
 The Etherow (left), joined by the Black Cloughs fromBleaklow. | |
 The River Etherow is highlighted in red (click to enlarge) Coordinates:53°27′54″N1°58′51″W / 53.464956°N 1.980954°W /53.464956; -1.980954 | |
| 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) |
TheRiver Etherow innorthern England is atributary of theRiver Goyt. Although now passing throughSouth Yorkshire,Derbyshire andGreater Manchester, it historically formed theancient county boundary betweenCheshire and Derbyshire. The upper valley is known asLongdendale. The river has a watershed of approximately 30 square miles (78 km2), and the area an annual rainfall of 52.5 inches (1,330 mm).
Rising in the Redhole Spring and Wike Head area of Pikenaze Moor in Derbyshire, the river broadens into theLongdendale Chain ofreservoirs in thePeak District National Park. It emerges again inTintwistle, Derbyshire, at the foot ofBottoms Reservoirdam[1] and passesMelandra Castle inGamesley, where it is joined by Glossop Brook.[2] The Etherow enters the borough ofTameside atHollingworth in Greater Manchester, passing into Stockport where it passes throughEtherow Country Park. It flows into theRiver Goyt at Brabyns Park nearMarple.
The modern accepted start of theRiver Mersey is at the confluence of theTame and Goyt, in centralStockport, 4 miles (6 km) downstream.[3] However, older definitions, and many older maps, place its start at the confluence of the Etherow and Goyt; for example the1911 Encyclopædia Britannica states "It is formed by the junction of the Goyt and the Etherow a short distance belowMarple in Cheshire on the first-named stream." John Stockdale's map published on 12 April 1794 shows the Mersey River extending to at leastMottram, and forming the boundary betweenCheshire andDerbyshire.[4]
The upper reaches of the River Etherow pass throughpeatmoorland, inhabited byred foxes,voles and an introduced population ofmountain hare.Red grouse,ring ouzel,wheatear andgolden plover may be seen.Kestrels,merlins andshort-eared owls nest here. The reservoirs attractmallards, and alsoteal,pochard,common sandpipers,black-headed gulls andCanada geese. The woodlands are home toredstart,great spotted woodpecker, andspotted flycatcher.[5]Water rail have been recorded at Etherow Country Park.[6]
Longdendale is a steep-sided V-shaped valley that isglacial in origin. Longdendale is in theDark Peak, where a thick blanket of peat overlies theMillstone Grit sandstone, formed on a bed ofshale through which flows the Etherow. Directly beneath the upper valley lie areas ofCarboniferous Millstone Grit, shales andsandstone. It is on the edge of thePeak District Dome, at the southern edge of the Pennineanticline. TheVariscan uplift has caused muchfaulting and Glossopdale was the product ofglacial action in the last glaciation period that exploited the weakened rocks. The steep-sided valleys of thecloughs cause significanterosion anddeposition. The layers of sandstone, mudstones and shale in the bedrock act as anaquifer to feed the springs. The valley bottoms have a thin deposit ofboulder clay. The brooks are fed by the peaty soils of the moors and are, therefore,acidic (pH5.5–7.0).[7]
The Etherow valley was an important trans-Pennine route, and in AD 78 theRomans underAgricola built the fort ofArdotalia (later known as Melandra or Melandra Castle) to defend it. TheMercians settled at Hollingworth about 650 AD. Many placenames of the area date from this period; for example,Mottram andGlossop. At the time ofDomesday (1086) the river was firmly established as the boundary between Cheshire and Derbyshire, but the nameEdrow orEtherow applied to this upper reach of the Mersey cannot be dated earlier thanc.1772.[8]
Apackhorse route (known as a saltway) was maintained from theMiddle Ages onwards to allow the export of salt from the Cheshire towns ofNantwich,Northwich andMiddlewich across thePennines. The saltway followed the Etherow to Ladyshaw, and at Salters Brook (SK137999) it forked, with one route leading toWakefield and another toBarnsley.[9]
Water was an important source of power for industry, and the Etherow and its tributaries were fast flowing and constant.Watermills were used to grindmeal and tofull woollen cloth (Littlemoor 1781). Wool was transported along theturnpike road (1731) that ran fromAshton-under-Lyne,Stalybridge, Mottram,Woodhead and Lady's Cross toSheffield, to bewoven onhand-looms in the dale.[10]
From 1782 to 1820, water-poweredcotton mills were built along many brooks feeding the Etherow, including six on the Glossop side of the river. With the adoption of steam to power the ever-larger mills, built closer to the coal fields, the river assumed a new role as a source of water forManchester andSalford. In 1844John Frederick Bateman advised Manchester Corporation that the River Etherow, which rose at the highest point of the Pennine chain, could provide water, collected in purpose-built reservoirs, "nearly as pure as if it comes from the heavens." This led to the construction of theLongdendale Chain of reservoirs, the first scheme of its type in the world. Three reservoirs were built on the Etherow to impound drinking water, with another two to provide compensation water for the mills downstream.[11]
The nameEtherow could be ofBrittonic Celtic origin and derived from the ancient term*ador, meaning "watercourse, channel".[12] The settlement-nameTintwistle, however, implies thatEtherow may be anOld English replacement for an earlier name of the*Tin- type (seeRiver Tyne), derived from thehydronym*edre, which is possibly related toēdre, "vein".[12]
The Longdendale Chain of reservoirs comprises three impounding reservoirs,Woodhead Reservoir,Torside Reservoir andRhodeswood Reservoir, supplying 24,000,000 imperial gallons (110 Ml) of water a day by gravity to Manchester and Salford, and 6,600,000 imperial gallons (30 Ml) toHyde andDenton through theMottram tunnel.Valehouse Reservoir andBottoms Reservoir are compensating reservoirs which have a combined holding capacity of 4,200,000,000 imperial gallons (19,000 Ml).
The Woodhead Line, which followed the river fromHadfield to theWoodhead Tunnel portal, was an important cross-Pennine route built in 1844 by theSheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway.Three tunnels of 4,840 metres (15,880 ft) were dug, connectingWoodhead withDunford Bridge on theRiver Don. Though now closed to railway traffic, one tunnel is used to route electricity cables for theNational Grid, with work in progress to use a second tunnel for a new cable, thus preventing the re-establishment of rail traffic.
Following the closure of the railway line, the trackbed was taken up and theLongdendale Trail constructed along its route. This is now part of theTrans-Pennine Trail,Sustrans National Cycle Route 62.[13] This, in its turn, is part of the 2,000 miles (3,200 km)European walking route E8 from Liverpool to Istanbul. ThePennine Way crosses Longdendale, descending fromBleaklow to the south and ascendingBlack Hill to the north. Theyouth hostel at Crowden is a traditional stop after the first day's walking, fromEdale.
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 inPeak District Walking Guide No.2, published by the Peak Park Planning Board.[citation needed]
Torside Reservoir is home to Glossop & District Sailing Club and Etherow Country Park is the home to Etherow Country Park Sailing Club.[14][15]
Etherow Country Park, inCompstall, close to the mouth of the Etherow, opened in 1968 as one of the UK's firstcountry 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 aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The area was given the designation in 1977 for its biological interest, in particular its wide range of habitats, including open water, tallfen,reed swamp,carr and mixeddeciduouswoodland.[6]
River Etherow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Etherow has no major tributaries; it is fed by numerous brooks and streams from the cloughs flowing offKinder Scout,Bleaklow andBlack Hill. Minor left tributaries are:
Minor right tributaries are:
