The river Swale is said to be one of the fastest flowing rivers in England, living up to the Anglo Saxon word ‘Sualuae’ - meaning rapid and likely to deluge. It starts at the confluence of Birkdale and Great Sleddale Beck in the Yorkshire Dales, passing through many idyllic villages and busy towns before joining the River Ure near Myton-on-Swale.

As the Swale runs through the landscape its waters are appreciated by many; from human activities such as paddle boarding, swimming and fishing, walking along its banks on the Coast to Coast path, to providing a vital water source for animals and wildlife.

Sadly over the years the Swale has faced many challenges that have degraded its healthy waters, including pollution, sediment accumulation and loss of floodplains and natural habitat.

In fact, over 50% of historic wetland habitat – which includes the river and the wetter land that surrounds it – has been lost from the mid-Swale area since the early 19th century, and much of what remains is severely fragmented.

But work is now underway to restore the Swale to its former glory!

Funded by the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has been running a restoration project over the past few years focusing on the mid–Swale area from Richmond to Catton. Thanks to these specific activities with local landowners, the Swale is returning to a wilder and healthier habitat:

Increasing wetland areas 

Wetlands hold water most of the time, and include ponds, marshes and bogs. These areas help to filter polluted water, reduce flood risk and play host to specialist wildlife: even restoring a redundant pond can make a huge difference to the landscape.

Decreasing groundwater run-off

This is a term used for water ‘running off’ the land, particularly after heavy rain fall, bringing with it loose sediments and pesticides which wash back into the river. The build-up of sediments also smothers our riverbed gravels, preventing fish from spawning in their favoured areas. Pollutants such as zinc and lead from the upper Swales mining history still leach into the water today, along with sewage discharge and agricultural run-off, mixing the Swale’s waters into a harmful cocktail for aquatic life.

Reconnecting floodplains

Floodplains are the flat areas surrounding a river or stream. When a river floods the water spreads into the floodplain, causing it to lose force and reducing flooding downstream. As the water drains away it deposits silts onto the land, creating a specialist habitat for plants and wildlife.

Calling landowners and land managers!

There’s more to do and land managers, landowners, and farmers play an extremely important role in managing land and preserving water.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust want to work with other land managers and farmers and can offer a wide range of Natural Flood Management solutions which aim to repair our damaged watercourse and surrounding landscape. These will, in turn, benefit people's livelihoods, improve water quality, and restore the natural environment of the River Swale.

If you would like to know more please contact Claire Burton

claire.burton@ywt.org.uk