Four rivers, four completely different regions, one name. And all awesome.
BRITAIN HAS MANY repeating rivers. We have nine Avons, four Dees, four Dons, three Wyes and three Ouses. Pretty much all of them have delights to tempt your boots. The four Derwents, though, have everything. They all rise in beautiful places, and flow through even more. They all have interesting stories to tell along their length. They follow improbable routes and end up where you might not expect them to. And while they may have stretches that are slightly dull or unwalkable (as every river does), their ‘best bits’ are truly stellar. But first things first: why does the name Derwent repeat so often? Because of its simple meaning: it evolved from the Celtic Brythonic words for oak and valley - derw and went; thus, ‘valley of the oaks’. So as the Brythonic language and culture spread across northern England, any prominent waterway with a lot of oak forest along its length had a decent chance of becoming a Derwent. So here they all are, in all their glory. Which one will you choose for a walk and a paddle?
The Cumbria One38½ miles
The first 20 miles of this river are possibly the most dramatic and scenic miles of any river’s course in the entire country. Born in Sprinkling Tarn, high among the Scafell range in the heart of the Lake District, this Derwent follows two jaw-dropping courses (Grains Gill and Styhead Gill) which converge at Seathwaite for an unforgettable journey through Borrowdale, sometimes hailed as the most beautiful valley in England. Passing Rosthwaite and Castle Crag, it then flows through Derwent Water, beneath Cat Bells and past Keswick, and on into Bassenthwaite Lake, in the shadow of mighty Skiddaw. After that it flitches to the west (getting briefly siphoned at the Lakes Distillery to make award-winning gins and whiskies), reaching Cockermouth and, eventually, the Irish Sea at Workington - thus making it the only Derwent with a full source-to-sea course. The latter sections may not be quite as enthralling, but that stretch from Sprinkling Tarn to Keswick? World class.
WALK HERE: Download Sprinkling Tarn at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes
It’s likely more people have been to the bottom of the Marianas Trench than have seen the source of the Derbyshire Derwent. It rises at Swains Greave in the heart of darkness that is Bleaklow, where the nearest footpath is half a mile away and 500ft below, with peat bog in between. But what a journey this river then embarks upon: scything through the Dark Peak moorland and debouching into the Howden, Derwent and then Ladybower reservoirs, skipping past the Yorkshire Bridg
