The River Swarbourn is a minor tributary of the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

that flows for in Staffordshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Geography

Its catchment lies between that of the River Blithe to the West, and the River Dove to the north, in a part of the county known as Needwood Forest. The Swarbourn and its tributaries, which include the Eland Brook, Mare brook and Lin Brook, drain a catchment area of . The source is near to the village of

Marchington Woodlands Marchington Woodlands is a small village near Uttoxeter in Staffordshire. The population as taken at the 2011 census can be found under Marchington. It has a church and a village hall. The local first school was closed in the 1990s and the bu ...

, it flows southeast, and passes through Newborough, Hoar Cross, Woodmill, and

Yoxall Yoxall is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Swarbourn on the A515 road north of Lichfield and south west of Burton upon Trent. South of the village, Yoxall Bridge crosses the River Trent. The ...

until it joins the River Trent between Wychnor Park and

Alrewas Alrewas ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Lichfield District of Staffordshire, England. Geography The village is beside the River Trent and about northeast of Lichfield. It is located southwest of Burton-on-Trent. The parish is bounded ...

. The Staffordshire long distance footpath called the

Way for the Millennium The Way for the Millennium is a east–west route across Staffordshire, deliberately designed for easy walking, using towpaths, old railway lines and footpaths and visiting attractive countryside and green spaces. Route The path starts east ...

follows the Swarbourn from Yoxall to its confluence with the Trent.

Ecology

The Swarbourn has been classed as having moderate ecological quality under the

Water Framework Directive The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC is an EU directive which commits European Union member states to achieve good qualitative and quantitative status of all water bodies (including marine waters up to one nautical mile from shore) by 2015. ...

. This is the middle band on the five part framework scale, which ranges from high, good, and moderate, through to poor and bad. The river is unusual in that it supports a population of native White clawed crayfish in the upper reaches, which is an endangered species in the UK. In 2013,

Crayfish plague Crayfish plague (''Aphanomyces astaci'') is a water mold that infects crayfish, most notably the European '' Astacus'' which dies within a few weeks of being infected. When experimentally tested, species from Australia, New Guinea and Japan we ...

was discovered in the lower parts of the river; the fungal plague is carried by the non-native American signal crayfish and is deadly to the native white clawed species. Efforts are being made to restrict the spread of the disease in order that the crayfish in the headwaters and in nearby ponds are not infected. Between Yoxall and Wychnor, a wetland woodland meadow has been created by felling a conifer plantation. Known as Swarbourn meadow, the wetland habitat is also the location for an artificial holt which has been constructed in order to attract otters from the Trent where they have previously been spotted. Bridge over the River Swarbourn, Yoxall - geograph

Bridge over the River Swarbourn, Yoxall - geograph

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swarbourn Rivers of Staffordshire 1Swarbourn Tributaries of the River Trent

Geography

Ecology

See also

References