# River Rothay > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/River_Rothay > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/River_Rothay.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Rothay > Source revision: 1298907324 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) River in Cumbria, England This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "River Rothay" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) [Stepping stones](/source/Step-stone_bridge) on the Rothay near [Rydal](/source/Rydal%2C_Cumbria) **The Rothay** is a [spate river](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spate_river&action=edit&redlink=1) of the [Lake District](/source/Lake_District) in north-west [England](/source/England). Its name comes from [Old Norse](/source/Old_Norse) and translates literally as *the red one*. This has come to mean *trout river*.[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*] It rises close to [Rough Crag](/source/Rough_Crag) above [Dunmail Raise](/source/Dunmail_Raise) at a point about 1542 feet (470 m) above [sea level](/source/Sea_level) ([grid reference](/source/Ordnance_Survey_National_Grid) [NY306108](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=River_Rothay¶ms=54.487772_N_3.072803_W_region:GB_scale:25000)). Its catchment area covers [Grasmere Common](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grasmere_Common&action=edit&redlink=1) including [Easedale Tarn](/source/Easedale_Tarn), the southern flanks of [Fairfield](/source/Fairfield_(Lake_District)), and several of the fells to the east of Dunmail Raise, including [Great Rigg](/source/Great_Rigg), [Rydal Fell](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rydal_Fell&action=edit&redlink=1), [Scandale Fell](/source/Scandale_Fell) and [Heron Pike](/source/Heron_Pike).[1] From its source the Rothay descends through the valley of Greenburn Bottom to the hamlet of [Helmside](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helmside&action=edit&redlink=1) not far from the main [A591 road](/source/A591_road) over Dunmail Raise. Just north of the [village of Grasmere](/source/Grasmere_(village)) the river subsumes [Easedale Gill](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Easedale_Gill&action=edit&redlink=1) and [Sour Milk Gill](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sour_Milk_Gill&action=edit&redlink=1), the latter flowing out of Easedale Tarn. In the village the river flows close to the churchyard where the poet [Wordsworth](/source/William_Wordsworth) is buried. The Rothay then flows into the head of the [lake of Grasmere](/source/Grasmere_(lake)) (elevation 208 feet/63 m). As well as replenishing Grasmere, the Rothay also drains it, flowing for just half a mile (800 m) from the southern end of the lake before replenishing [Rydal Water](/source/Rydal_Water) (elevation 181 feet/55 m) at its western extremity. The Rothay drains Rydal from its easternmost point and then flows in a general southerly direction for about three miles (4.8 km) before merging with the [River Brathay](/source/River_Brathay) at Croft Lodge south-west of [Ambleside](/source/Ambleside). From there the rivers flow into the northern end of [Windermere](/source/Windermere). In addition to those tributaries already noted, several others are subsumed by the Rothay. About a mile (1.6 km) north of Ambleside the Rothay is crossed by a well-known set of stepping stones. Several sections of the Rothay are popular with [canoeists](/source/Canoeing), including the section between Grasmere and Rydal; the river is graded as 2+. The Rothay is a trout fishery where [brown trout](/source/Brown_trout) can be caught. [Anglers](/source/Angling) should enquire locally about licences (an Environment Agency Rod Licence is required). The River Rothay is wholly within the historic county of [Westmorland](/source/Westmorland). After local government reorganisation in 1974 the river was in the administrative county of [Cumbria](/source/Cumbria). Following further local government reorganisation in 2023 the river flows within the council area administered by [Westmorland and Furness Council](/source/Westmorland_and_Furness_Council). ## See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to [River Rothay](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:River_Rothay). - [Cumbria portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Cumbria) - [Cunsey Beck](/source/Cunsey_Beck) - [River Leven](/source/River_Leven%2C_Cumbria) - [Trout Beck](/source/Trout_Beck) - [Rotha Clay](/source/Rotha_Clay) - [Rydal Beck](/source/Rydal_Beck) - [Stock Ghyll](/source/Stock_Ghyll) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Rothay Water Body"](https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB112073071140). *Catchment Data Explorer*. Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs. Retrieved 12 February 2024. [54°29′16″N 3°04′22″W / 54.48777°N 3.07280°W / 54.48777; -3.07280](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=River_Rothay¶ms=54.48777_N_3.0728_W_type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(NY306108)) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [River Rothay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Rothay) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Rothay?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.