River Taw
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The River Taw () rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of
Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...
, crosses North
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into
Bideford Bay Bideford Bay, also known as Barnstaple Bay and often shown on maps as Barnstaple or Bideford Bay, is a large area of water on the northwest coast of Devon in South West England, at the southwestern end of the Bristol Channel where it joins the Cel ...
in the Bristol Channel, having formed a large estuary of wide meanders which at its western end is the estuary of the
River Torridge The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon farming country where its tributaries the Lew and Okement join before meeting the Taw at Appledore and flowing into the Bristo ...
.


Course

As a stream the Taw heads north and gives its name to the villages of
South Tawton South Tawton is a village, parish and former manor on the north edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. An electoral ward bearing the same name exists. At the 2011 census the population was 1,683. Historic estates Located in the parish of South Taw ...
and
North Tawton North Tawton is a small town in Devon, England, situated on the river Taw. It is administered by West Devon Council. The population of the electoral ward at the census 2011 was 2,026. History Romans crossed the River Taw at what is now Newl ...
. Headwaters add to the size from a number of two major upper course tributaries including the
Lapford Yeo The Lapford Yeo, also known as the River Yeo, is a tributary of the River Taw in Devon, England. It is one of several rivers of the same name, including another tributary of the Taw, the Barnstaple Yeo. The Lapford Yeo also flows within 2 miles ...
and
Little Dart River The Little Dart River is a tributary of the River Taw in Devon, England. It joins the Taw a mile west of Chulmleigh. The Little Dart rises near Rackenford. It flows west past Witheridge and through a deep wooded valley between Chawleigh and ...
. Along the middle course the Taw receives the
River Mole The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows northwest through Surrey for to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey distri ...
(
distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...
of the
River Bray The River Bray is a small river in North Devon, England. It is a tributary of the River Mole, which in turn is a tributary of the River Taw.Ordnance Survey of Great Britain It rises in Exmoor, near the border with Somerset. Geology Generally, t ...
and a second Yeo), which all rise on upland
Exmoor Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath ...
to the north-east. By this midway stage the river has increased in size and becomes a season-round recreational trout, sea trout and salmon river before becoming tidal at ''Newbridge'', approximately from the sea. The river drains a variable width basin as one of many rivers in the strongly agricultural county, the river has a rolling valley surrounded by (in order of frequency of occurrence) animal
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...
, cultivated fields and woodland until near its end. Its length is approximately . The
Tarka Trail The Tarka Trail is a series of footpaths and cyclepaths (rail trails) around north Devon, England that follow the route taken by the fictional Tarka the Otter in the book of that name. It covers a total of in a figure-of-eight route, centred o ...
named after
Tarka the Otter ''Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers'' is a novel by English writer Henry Williamson, first published in 1927 by G.P. Putnam's Sons with an introduction by the Hon. Sir John Fortescue. It won th ...
follows much of the river's course.Open Street Map
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List of bridges

The following is a list of bridges over the River Taw listed going upstream from the estuary at Barnstaple. The left bank of a river is that on the left of a traveller progressing downstream.


Tidal section

The river shares the large tidal ranges of the Bristol Channel and daily changes of water depth of 6 m to 8 m are common near its mouth. This effect can also be seen in changes to the tidal-estuarine basin, which is 18  km long. The tidally-influenced river starts at ''Newbridge'', 4 km south of Barnstaple, where the river's width is approximately 20 m. The channel's width increases dramatically over the next 8 km, reaching 1 km by Fremington. At Barnstaple the Taw is joined by the (Barnstaple) Yeo, which is tidal for a short distance inland. Seawards of Fremington, the small
River Caen The River Caen is a short river running through Braunton in north Devon. It flows into the estuary of the River Taw The River Taw () rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the t ...
joins the river on its north bank, the river of
Braunton Braunton is a large village, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish and former manor in Devon. The village is situated west of Barnstaple. It is one of the largest villages in Devon with a population at the 2021 census of 10,217 people. There ...
. This tributary was made navigable on its main lower course as the
Braunton Canal The Braunton Canal is a cut made to straighten the course of the upper section of the River Caen, known as Braunton Pill, and to provide a new quay for the village of Braunton in North Devon, England. It crosses an area known as Braunton Marsh, ...
in the early 19th century.


River legacy

The Taw also gives its name to
Bishop's Tawton Bishop's Tawton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. It is in the valley of the River Taw, about three miles south of Barnstaple. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,176. De ...
just before passing through the only town on its route, Barnstaple. The Long Bridge here, originally medieval, is the second-lowest bridging point of the Taw. Work finished in 2007 on the long-awaited 'downstream bridge', part of the Barnstaple Western Bypass and now the Taw's lowest crossing point; it was opened in May 2007. Seawards of Barnstaple, the river's journey is blocked by the large
dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
complex of
Braunton Burrows Braunton Burrows is a sand dune system on the North Devon coast. It is privately owned and forms part of the Christie Devon Estates Trust (see Tapeley Park). Braunton Burrows is a prime British sand dune site, the largest sand dune system (psamm ...
, hence its late diversion south-westward and shared estuary mouth with the
River Torridge The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon farming country where its tributaries the Lew and Okement join before meeting the Taw at Appledore and flowing into the Bristo ...
across ''Zulu Bar'' sandbanks and out into Barnstaple (or Bideford) Bay. The second lowest port on the Taw is Fremington. Between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries its tidal quay was the busiest port (tonnage) between Bristol and Lands End, mainly as it was a handy landing point for Welsh coal shipped across the Bristol Channel which could be distributed around the south-west peninsula by train (track finally closed 1987). The lowest port (or at least jetty) can be found at
Yelland Yelland is a village of 2,000 inhabitants situated in North Devon between Instow and Fremington in the English county of Devon. Yelland is included within the parish of Fremington. Amenities There is a garage, and a small industrial park. R ...
. The site of a coal-fired power station (closed 1984; demolished 1989), it still is used as a tanker-distribution centre for commercial and domestic petrol and diesel deliveries. The oil storage tanks here are filled from coastal lighters.


Flooding

The flooding of the Taw in August 1983 and the destruction of the sand dune causeway to ''Crow Island'' at the southern tip of Braunton Burrows was the inspiration for Ted Hughes' poem to commemorate the christening of
Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...
, son of
King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
- Rain-Charm for the Duchy.


Rail links

Local
rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...
and
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
routes follow the river from Barnstaple through the centre of the county. The Southern Railway built a series of 4-6-2 steam locomotives named after various places within the
West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
. The locomotive that honours the Taw Valley is preserved in its rebuilt form on the
Severn Valley Railway The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The heritage line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route, and c ...
carrying its post-nationalisation number 34027.


External links


Current river level at Umberleigh

Webcam view of River Taw running under Barnstaple's Long Bridge

Tide times and heights for the Taw's mouthEnvironment Agency: Taw and North Devon Streams Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy. Map p.6

Fishing: River Taw Fisheries Association


Notes and references

;Notes ;References {{authority control Estuaries of England Taw, River