River Irt

{{Short description|River in Cumbria, England}} {{use British English|date=April 2018}} {{use dmy dates|date=April 2018}} 300px|thumb|Drigg Holme Packhorse Bridge over the River Irt {{about|the river|the locomotive|River Irt (R&ER locomotive)}} The '''River Irt''' is a river in the county of Cumbria in northern England. It flows for approximately {{convert|22|km|order=flip}} from its source in Wast Water to its estuary at Ravenglass.

The name of the river is believed to derive either from the Old English ''gyr'' which means "mud",<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ekwall|first1=Eilert|title=The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names|date=1960|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0-19-869103-3|page=266|edition=4}}</ref> or from the Brittonic words ''*ar'', "flowing",<ref name="bliton">{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Alan |title=A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence |url=http://spns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Alan_James_Brittonic_Language_in_the_Old_North_BLITON_Volume_II_Dictionary.pdf |website=SPNS - The Brittonic Language in the Old North |accessdate=25 November 2018 |archive-date=13 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813011121/http://spns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Alan_James_Brittonic_Language_in_the_Old_North_BLITON_Volume_II_Dictionary.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> or ''*īr'', "fresh, clean, pure",<ref name="bliton" /> suffixed with ''-ed'', a nominal suffix meaning "having the quality of...".<ref name="bliton" />

==Course== The River Irt flows from the south-western end of Wast Water, the deepest lake in England. Wast Water is fed by a number of streams, but principally the Mosedale and Lingmell becks that enter the lake at its eastern end, on the north-western side of Scafell Pike. The Irt leaves the lake at the foot of Whin Rigg, the southern peak of the famous Wastwater Screes, and flows in a south-westerly direction. In its first few miles the river receives the waters of the Greathall, Cinderdale, Black and Kid becks, and passes the village of Nether Wasdale, before reaching its confluence with the River Bleng.<ref>{{cite web|title=West Cumbria Rivers Trust (WCRT)|url=http://westcumbriariverstrust.org/projects/irt-pearl-mussel-project/the-river-irt|website=westcumbriariverstrust.org|accessdate=1 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Irt u/s Bleng|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB112074070100|website=environment.data.gov.uk|accessdate=1 April 2018}}</ref><ref name=oslksw>{{cite map |title=OS Explorer: Map of The Lake District: South-western area |isbn=9780319242452 |publisher=Ordnance Survey |date=2015}}</ref>

The River Irt then flows through the villages of Santon Bridge and Holmrook, where it is crossed by the A595 coast road. The river then passes just to the south of Drigg. At Drigg Holme packhorse bridge it is crossed by the Cumbria Coastal Way long-distance footpath, and shortly thereafter by the Cumbrian Coast railway line just south of Drigg railway station. Between the footpath and railway bridges the river becomes tidal.<ref name=oslksw/><ref name=bleng>{{cite web|title=Irt (d/s Bleng confluence)|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB112074070070|website=environment.data.gov.uk|accessdate=1 April 2018}}</ref>

After the railway bridge, the River Irt widens into an estuary and turns south, flowing through the Drigg Dunes and Irt Estuary Nature Reserve before joining the River Esk and River Mite at Ravenglass.<ref name=oslksw/><ref name=bleng/>

==Ecology== In the 19th century the River Irt was famous for the extremely rare black pearls that grew in its freshwater pearl mussels. Poaching of the pearls was thought to have led to the mussels becoming extinct in the River Irt,<ref>{{cite web|title=Drigg Dunes, Cumbria|url=http://www.countryfile.com/days-out/drigg-dunes-cumbria|website=Countryfile.com|accessdate=1 April 2018|date=25 April 2012}}</ref> however, a very small number have survived. The West Cumbria Rivers Trust carried out conservation work on the river between February 2015 and February 2018 to try and protect the habitat and prevent the complete eradication of the freshwater mussel from the river.<ref>{{cite web |title=Irt Pearl Mussel Project |publisher=West Cumbria Rivers Trust (WCRT) |url=http://westcumbriariverstrust.org/projects/irt-pearl-mussel-project |accessdate=1 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402035513/http://westcumbriariverstrust.org/projects/irt-pearl-mussel-project |archive-date=2 April 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2023, evidence of mussels reproducing in the river was found for the first time since 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-06-06 |title=Cumbrian freshwater mussels reproduce for first time in 13 years |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-65809650 |access-date=2024-05-07 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{Commons category|River Irt }}

{{coord|54|22|N|3|25|W|display=title|region:GB_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irt, River}} Irt, River 1Irt