page_title: River Derwent, Yorkshire
section_title: Course and character of the Derwent catchment area
hierarchical_section_title: River Derwent, Yorkshire / Course and character of the Derwent catchment area
caption_attribution_description: English: Sutton Bridge, Sutton upon Derwent, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.Photo by Rob Sample 1985
context_page_description: The Derwent is a river in Yorkshire in the north of England.
  It flows from Fylingdales Moor in the North York Moors National Park, then southwards as far as its confluence with the River Hertford then westwards through the Vale of Pickering, south through Kirkham Gorge and the Vale of York, joining the River Ouse at Barmby on the Marsh. The confluence is unusual in that the Derwent converges on the Ouse at a shallow angle in an upstream direction.
  The old course of the river used to flow further east, entering the Ouse east of Howden.
  The River Derwent catchment area includes the Upper Derwent, River Rye, River Hertford, Bielby Beck and Pocklington canal and their tributaries. It covers an area of 2,057 square kilometres and includes the towns of Stamford Bridge, Malton, Pickering, Helmsley, Filey and Scarborough. The area is bounded by the Cleveland Hills, North York Moors and Hambleton Hills to the north, the Yorkshire Wolds and the coast to the east, the Vale of York to the west and the River Ouse and Humber Estuary to the south. The area around the river is primarily rural in nature with grazing moorland in the upland areas and a variety of agricultural uses at lower levels.
context_section_description: For management purposes the catchment area has been divided into ten smaller units. Two of these units (Howe Bridge and Ness) relate to the River Rye which is the subject of a separate article. The other eight, starting at the source, are:
  East and West Ayton
  The Derwent starts its course at Lilla Rig on the North York Moors a few miles from the east coast of Yorkshire. After collecting the waters of the Jugger Howe Beck, Black Beck and Troutdale Beck it flows south through the Forge Valley to East and West Ayton. From there it continues across lower ground to where it is joined by the River Hertford. The Sea Cut, a man made channel, connects the Derwent to the North Sea near Scarborough to alleviate flooding in the lower reaches of the Derwent, downstream of the Cut. This management area is about 127 km² and largely rural with no major settlements. Corallian limestone lies beneath this area. The landscape is upland moors in the upper reaches with lower lying flatter land near Hackness. The river flows through the narrow Forge Valley and several designated natural conservation sites. Water is retained behind a weir at West Ayton and there are sink holes in the river bed where river water is lost to underlying aquifers, so that in drought years the river below the weir may run dry. There are no wastewater treatment works. The ecology and fisheries have a very high sensitivity to changes in water flow.
  River Hertford
  The River Hertford starts close to Hunmanby near the seaside town of Filey and flows westwards into the Derwent. The management area is about 83 km² with a largely rural economy of arable farming and managed grassland in a flat to undulating landscape. The underlying rock is Corallian limestone but overlying deposits insulate the river water from this aquifer. Close to the river the land is less than 30 m high whilst to the south of the area on the slopes of the Yorkshire Wolds it reaches 100m. The river flows in a narrow heavily modified channel. Discharges from water treatment works occur at Seamer, Folkton and Hunmanby.
  Low Marishes
  Having been joined by the River Hertford the Derwent turns sharply west and flows along the Vale of Pickering past Yedingham village and is joined by the River Rye four miles upstream from Malton then flows southwards. It covers an area of about 273 km² and overlies the Corallian limestone aquifer. The topography and land use are varied. The flat valley floor is less than 20 metres in height and here the dominant land use is arable farming. In the northern part of this area lies the North York Moors National Park where the land is used mainly for upland grazing and forestry. To the south are the Yorkshire Wolds and here the land rises to over 180 metres in height.
  There are waste-water treatment works at Thornton le Dale, East Heslerton and Sherburn.
  Kirkham Bridge
  After leaving Malton it flows south through the steep sided valley of Kirkham Gorge past Howsham Mill and weir to Buttercrambe.
  Buttercrambe
  At Buttercrambe it continues southwards and through Stamford Bridge.
  The above two areas have similar physical and ecological characteristics. They have a combined catchment area of 256 km². Part of the Kirkham Bridge area is underlain by Corallian limestone. The areas are predominantly rural with undulating scenery. The Howardian Hills lie to the north of Buttercrambe and the Yorkshire Wolds to the east of Kirkham Bridge. There are many scattered villages in the agricultural landscape. The land near to the river is less than 20 metres high.
  The River Derwent Special Area of Conservation runs through the length of both areas. Waste-water treatment works are located at Foston, Leavening, Harton, Whenby, Welburn and Settrington.
  Sutton upon Derwent
  It continues southwards, cutting through the slightly higher surrounds of the Escrick moraine and into the Vale of York and past Wheldrake. This area covers 79 km². It is low undulating agricultural land where the largest settlement is Stamford Bridge. The River Derwent in this area has many designated riverine conservation sites. There 
caption: Bridge between Elvington and Sutton upon Derwent (1985)
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