The Wyming Brook is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the

City of Sheffield The City of Sheffield is a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in South Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Sheffield, the town of Stocksbridge and the larger ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Its source is the Redmires Reservoirs near the Hallam Moors. It flows in a north-easterly direction for over down quite steep terrain into an underground chamber where it joins the Rivelin tunnel before it flows into the lower of the Rivelin Dams.''"Reminiscing Around Rivelin"'', Roy Davey, No ISBN, Page 8, Gives history, reservoir data and details of Rivelin tunnel and water treatment works. The river flows almost its entire length within the Wyming Brook Nature Reserve, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

which is managed by the

Wildlife Trust for Sheffield and Rotherham Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust is a registered charity and conservation organisation working across Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1985, the Trust manages nature reserves, campaigns for wildlife protectio ...

Geography

A steep footpath runs alongside the brook and a bridleway, Wyming Brook Drive, crosses the nature reserve from north to south. The footpath can be quite steep, with it and the brook falling over 100 m in a kilometre. The surrounds are wooded near the bottom and more open near the top, with views of the

Rivelin Valley The River Rivelin is a river in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It rises on the Hallam moors, in north west Sheffield, and joins the River Loxley (at Malin Bridge). The Rivelin Valley, through which the river flows, is a long woodland vall ...

. Red cedar, eastern hemlock, Douglas fir, red pine, sitka, sweet chestnut, black alder, oak and rowan can be seen alongside the brook. Wildlife found around Wyming Brook includes moths such as the common lutestring and northern spinach and birds, the

dipper Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

and the

crossbill Crossbills are birds of the genus ''Loxia'' within the finch family (Fringillidae), with six species. These birds are characterized by the mandibles with crossed tips, which gives the group its English name. Adult males tend to be red or orange ...

. The

Peak District Boundary Walk The Peak District Boundary Walk is a circular walking trail, starting and finishing at Buxton and broadly following the boundary of the Peak District, Britain's first national park. The route was developed by the Friends of the Peak District (a ...

runs through the nature reserve.

History

Historically the area was used exclusively by the nobility when it was part of the hunting and hawking grounds of Rivelin Chase. Above, and to the west of the watercourse on Ash Cabin Flat is an embanked stone circle, dating to the Bronze Age. In 2023

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...

trees at the nature reserve were found to be infected with a non-native fungus-like disease,

Phytophthora ramorum ''Phytophthora ramorum'' is the oomycete known to cause the disease sudden oak death (SOD). The disease kills oak and other species of trees and has had devastating effects on the oak populations in California and Oregon, as well as being present ...

. The

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

served a Statutory Plant Health Notice to Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust ordering it to remove infected trees. Chestnut trees, also susceptible to ramorum were also felled. In September 2023 the wildlife trust started a planned four month programme to cut down over 1,000 trees. In October 2023 campaigners, who said the changes would create 'a post-apocalyptic landscape', launched a petition urging Sheffield Council, the land-owner, to challenge the SPHN and end the felling of trees. Sheffield Council responded by stating, 'the council is under a legal duty to comply with this notice'. Yorkshire Water, which owns land adjacent to the nature reserve were also carrying out preventative measures to halt the spread of ramorum by felling trees. An area of close planted sitka spruce and douglas fir, planted in the 1950s and considered to be of little value to wildlife has also been cut down with the expectation that native broadleaf woodland will replace the felled trees. The footpaths, bridleway and car parks at the site were closed for the duration of the work. The area was re-opened to the public on 13 April 2024.

References

{{authority control Wyming Brook