The River Lynher () (or St Germans River downstream from its confluence with the Tiddy) flows through east

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, and enters the

River Tamar The Tamar (; ) is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape (an Area of Outsta ...

at the Hamoaze, which in turn flows into

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

Navigation

The

normal tidal limit Head of tide, tidal limit or tidehead is the furthest point upstream where a river is affected by tidal fluctuations, or where the fluctuations are less than a certain amount. The river section influenced by tides and marine forces, but without ...

is a

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

upstream of Notter Bridge. St Germans is a historic fishing village situated on the River Tiddy just upstream of its confluence with the Lynher. The Quay Sailing Club are based at St Germans Quay. The

Queen's Harbour Master A King's Harbour Master (abbreviated as KHM, also known as Queen's Harbour Master or QHM during the reign of a female monarch) is a harbourmaster and public official in Canada and the United Kingdom. Their official responsibilities includes enf ...

for Plymouth is responsible for managing navigation on the tidal Lynher and its tributaries (up to the normal tidal limits). River Lynher towards Saltash - geograph

Geography

The river is about 21 miles (34 km long), rising at a height of about 920 feet (280m) on

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor () is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geology, geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough To ...

and flowing into the Tamar Estuary near

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. It has four main tributaries, the largest of which is the River Tiddy. The smaller tributaries include

Deans Brook Deans Brook is a two-kilometre-long stream which runs between Mill Hill and Edgware in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a tributary of the Silk Stream, which is a tributary of the River Brent, which is a tributary of the River Thames. The b ...

, Withey Brook, Marke Valley and Darleyford streams and Kelly Brook.

Ecology

The Lynher and its tributaries are largely used for rod and line fishing, particularly for

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

and

Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...

. Its estuary is a designated

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 ...

and also a

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

. Many species of animals can be found here, including the

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

white-throated dipper The white-throated dipper (''Cinclus cinclus''), also known as the European dipper or just dipper, is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecies ...

avocet The four species of avocets are a genus, ''Recurvirostra'', of waders in the same avian family as the stilts. The genus name comes from Latin , 'curved backwards' and , 'bill'. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian ( Ferrarese) ...

, and

black-tailed godwit The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, '' Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and ches ...

; the triangular club-rush (

scirpus ''Scirpus'' is a genus of grass-like species in the sedge family Cyperaceae many with the common names club-rush, wood club-rush or bulrush. They mostly inhabit wetlands and damp locations. Description ''Scirpus'' are rhizomatous perennial herbs ...

) also grows on the banks. The estuary, along with the

Tamar–Tavy Estuary The Tamar–Tavy Estuary is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering the tidal estuaries of the River Tamar and the River Tavy on the border between Cornwall and Devon in England, UK. Parts of the land designated as the Tamar–Tavy ...

system and St John's Lake, form the ''Tamar Estuaries Complex''

(SPA), as well as forming part of the ''

and Estuaries''

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

(SAC). Park Wood, in the Lyhner valley south-west of Callington off the

A390 road The A390 is a road in Cornwall and Devon, England. It runs from Tavistock, Devon, Tavistock to north west of the city of Truro. Starting in Tavistock, it heads south-westwards towards Liskeard, crossing over the River Tamar and into Cornwall, ...

, is also designated an SSSI for its

biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

interest.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynher, River Cornish Killas Nature Conservation Review sites River navigations in the United Kingdom Rivers of Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall 1Lynher

Navigation

Geography

Ecology

See also

References

External links