River Ure
Aysgarth Falls inWensleydale
Location of the Ure within North Yorkshire
Location
Country	England
State	North Yorkshire
Physical characteristics
Source	Ure Head
• coordinates	54°21′59.967″N2°18′0.033″W / 54.36665750°N 2.30000917°W /54.36665750; -2.30000917
• elevation	640 m (2,100 ft)
Mouth	River Ouse
• location	Cuddy Shaw Reach (nearLinton-on-Ouse),North Yorkshire,England
• coordinates	54°2′4″N1°16′30″W / 54.03444°N 1.27500°W /54.03444; -1.27500
• elevation	10 m (33 ft)
Length	119 km (74 mi)

TheRiver Ure inNorth Yorkshire, England, is about 74 miles (119 km) long from its source to the point where it becomes theRiver Ouse. It is the principal river ofWensleydale, which is the only majordale now named after a village rather than its river. The old name for the valley was Yoredale after the river that runs through it.

The Ure is one of many rivers and waterways that drain the Dales into the River Ouse. Tributaries of the Ure include theRiver Swale and theRiver Skell.

The earliest recorded name of the river isEarp in about 1025, probably an error forEar ƿ, whereƿ represents the Old English letterwynn or 'w', standing forƿæter ("water").^[1] By 1140 it is recorded asJor, henceJervaulx (Jorvale) Abbey, and a little later asYore. In Tudor times,antiquariansJohn Leland andWilliam Camden used the modern form of the name.^[2]

The name probably means "the strong or swift river".^[3] This is on the assumption that theBrittonic name of the river wasIsurā, because the Roman name forAldborough wasIsurium; intervocalics is known to have been lost in Brittonic at an early date. This explanation connects the river name with anIndo-European rootis- meaning "strong" and the names of theIsar in Germany and theIsère in France.^[1]

v t e River Ure
Legend
Ure Head (Source) Fording Point Green Bridge (foot) Ure Crook How Beck Bridge Footbridge Tongue Gill Grass Gill Scars Gill Fording Point Keld Gill Blades Footbridge Unnamed road Johnston Gill South Lunds Sike Ure Force Unnamed road Lunds Gill Thorn Tarn gill Scothole Gill Thwaite Bridge Carr Gill  A684  Mossdale Beck Footbridge Cottersdale Beck  A684  New Bridge Widdale Beck Hardraw Beck Thorne Sike Footbridge Gayle Beck Haylands Bridge Hawes Footbridge Blackburn Sike Eller Beck Nicholl Gill Raygill Sike Yore Bridge Bainbridge Grays Beck River Bain Paddock Beck West Mawks Sike Worton Bridge Worton Newbiggin Beck Footbridge Craike Sike Gutter Sister Ings Beck Starra Beck Wanley Beck Gill Beck Footbridge Eller Beck Footbridge Mill Race Low Beck Aysgarth Falls Yore Bridge Bishopdale/Walden Becks Kendall Beck Belden Beck/Swan River Batt Island Mill Beck  A684  Wensley Bridge Wensley Beck  A6108  Middleham Bridge Mill Beck Harmby/Spennithorne Becks Ulshaw Bridge The Batts River Cover Harker Beck Kilgram Bridge Footbridge The Island Markfield Goit  A6108  Masham Bridge Footbridge River Burn Black Robin Beck The Batts  A6108  Tanfield Bridge Mill Batts Light Water The Sike Hutton Mill Deep North Bridge Ripon  A61  Ripon By-pass River Skell  B6265  Hewick Bridge Ripon Canal Bishop Monkton Cutt Scour Gutter Ings Drain The Island Westwick Lock Croft Drain Sleight  A1(M)   A168  Arrows Bridge Borough Bridge Milby Lock River Tutt River Swale Holbecks Beck Closes Drain Footbridge Aldwark Bridge (Toll) Cuddy Shaw Reach River Ouse

The source of the river is Ure Head on Abbotside Common, where it flows west-southwest to the valley floor and then turns south. Where it reaches the A684, it turns east along Wensleydale as far as Wensley. From here, it flows south-east to Jervaulx Abbey and shortly after south toMickley. Here, it returns east and then south to Ripon. A little way after Ripon, it flows east again to Boroughbridge.

To the east of Boroughbridge, the Ure is joined by the River Swale. About 6 miles (9.7 km) downstream of this confluence, at Cuddy Shaw Reach nearLinton-on-Ouse, the river name changes to the River Ouse.

• Low and high water levels are average figures.

Upper Wensleydale is a high, open, and remote, U-shaped valley overlying Yoredale Beds. The gradient is gentle to the north end of the valley, becoming steeper further south. Glacialdrumlins lie either side of the river, which is shallow but fast flowing. The river is fed from many gills cutting through woodland and predominantly sheep farmsteads. TheSettle to Carlisle railway runs along the western side of the valley here.

Mid Wensleydale is made of Great Scar limestone under Yoredale beds that make up the valley sides, which are marked with stepped limestone scars. The valley floor is made from glacial drift tails and moraine. The river here is broad and gently flowing in meanders in a stony channel. The four tributary valleys contribute to several waterfalls in this area.

Lower Wensleydale is a broader version of mid Wensleydale with the river gently meandering until it drops significantly atAysgarth over the platformed waterfalls. The valley sides become increasingly wooded.

From Middleham onwards, the river is a typical middle-aged river and meanders in wider arcs as it flows south-east.^[5]

The valley has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Examples of earthworks and other artifacts from the Bronze and Iron Ages can be seen in the Dales Countryside Museum inHawes, and the Romans built a fort atBainbridge. Place names in the valley denote the different types of settlers, such as Angles and Norse with typical suffixes such as "ton" and "sett".

During medieval times, much of the upper dale was sheep country belonging toMiddleham Castle and Jervaulx Abbey. In 1751, theRichmond to Lancaster Turnpike was created and originally followed the Roman road from Bainbridge. In 1795, it was diverted along the valley to Hawes and took the Widdale route, now the B6255 toIngleton.^[6]

More recently in 1990,Aysgarth Falls was used as a location inRobin Hood, Prince of Thieves, in the scene where Robin Hood fights Little John.^[7] It also featured in the 1992 film ofWuthering Heights^[8] and the 1984 TVminiseries,A Woman of Substance.^[9]

Farming (including dairying), tourism, and quarrying are the mainstays of the modern economy of the valley. The dairy at Hawes produces Wensleydale cheese. Brewing takes place in Masham at the Black Sheep and Theakston Breweries.

Many waymarked footpaths and open countryside are seen. The Pennine Way passes through Hawes.^[6]

The River Ure is navigable upstream as far as its junction with theRipon Canal, 2 miles (3 km) south-east of Ripon, a distance of 13.6 miles (21.9 km). Some locks are atMilby, where a short-cut bypasses the weir atBoroughbridge, and atWestwick.

Navigation to Swale Nab, at the confluence with the River Swale, was opened in January 1769 as part of the River Ouse Navigation.^[10] Navigation to the Ripon Canal was opened in January 1772.^[11]

TheLeeds and Thirsk Railway bought the navigation in January 1846.^[12] The navigation was neglected, and the lack of dredging resulted in boats having to be loaded with less cargo. A brief upturn in trade occurred in the 1860s, but the decline continued after that. By 1892, no traffic proceeded past Boroughbridge, and theNorth Eastern Railway took action to prevent the waterway above Boroughbridge from being used.^[12]

Until 1999, thenavigation authority to Swale Nab was the Linton Lock Navigation Commissioners. The commissioners had insufficient income to maintain the navigation, and in 1999, it was transferred toBritish Waterways.^[13] The navigation authority for the whole navigation is now theCanal & River Trust.

The differing habitats of the area have their own populations of flora such ascranesbill,bistort,pignut, andbuttercup. Other species that can be seen in the area arewood anemones,violets,primroses,purple orchids,cowslips, andherb paris. Some plants, such asspring sandwort, have managed to grow where lead mining took place. Large populations ofbadgers,roe deer,red foxes andrabbits occur in the valley. Among the variety of birds that can be seen in the valley aregolden plovers,curlews, andoystercatchers.^[6] Fish populations along the river include^[14]brown trout,grayling,barbel,chub,roach, andperch.

• 
  The River Ure near its source
• 
  River Ure west of Hawes
• 
  The River Ure near Worton Bridge
• 
  River Ure near Aysgarth with Batt Island in view
• 
  The River Ure at Hackfall Gorge near Mickley
• 
  River Ure near West Tanfield
• 
  Bridge over River Ure near Ripon
• 
  River Ure, Roecliffe
• 
  B6265 Hewick Bridge over River Ure
• 
  River Ure taken from Arrows Bridge

• Wensleydale
• Rivers of North Yorkshire
• Boroughbridge
• Ouse catchment

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use British English from November 2017
• Use dmy dates from July 2015
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Articles containing Old English (ca. 450-1100)-language text