River Derwent, County Durham
The River Derwent is a river of 35 miles on the border between County Durham and Northumberland. It ultimately becomes a tributary of the River Tyne, which river has already by then assumed the duty of marking the county border.
The Derwent rises in the Pennines, formed by the joining of two becks a mile west of Blanchland. It broadens into the Derwent Reservoir, west of Consett. On its journey, the river flows through places such as Allensford, Shotley Bridge, Blackhall Mill and Rowlands Gill. Until a little above Blackhall Mill, it forms the county border (after which the border heads off north on its own to the Stanley Burn and to the Tyne, levaing the lower reaches of the Derwent within County Durham).
The Derwent joins the River Tyne at Derwenthaugh, near the Gateshead MetroCentre.
Name
The name Derwent comes from the Old Welsh word for oak, derw, and is found as the name of a number of rivers of the north and Midlands.
Miscellany
The river is known locally as "The Divvy". Derwent Walk Country Park named after it is at Rowlands Gill.
Fishing permits on the river are usually priced at £3.00 on each stretch.
Outside links
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