The River Unk is a small river in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

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 ...

that runs for before flowing into the River Clun.

Course

It rises close to the site of the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

cross dyke A cross dyke or cross-dyke (also referred to as a cross-ridge dyke, covered way, linear ditch, linear earthwork or spur dyke) is a linear earthwork believed to be a prehistoric land boundary that usually measures between in length. A typical cr ...

known as the Lower Short Ditch on the Shropshire -

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

border in the north of Clun Forest and flows in a generally easterly direction for around before turning southward near Lower Edenhope and heading past Mainstone, Cefn Einion, and Bicton for and joining the River Clun near the Castle in the town of Clun.

Nature

The river is one of the few remaining sites in the United Kingdom where

freshwater pearl mussel The freshwater pearl mussel (''Margaritifera margaritifera'') is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Margaritiferidae. Although the name "freshwater pearl mussel" is often used for this species, ...

s are found. The Environment Agency has taken land next to the banks of the river to prevent cattle entering the water and silting up the riverbed.

References

External links

U 2Unk {{England-river-stub