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The River Skerne is a tributary of the
The River Skerne is a tributary of the River Tees
The River Tees (), in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries ...
. It flows through County Durham in 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 ...
.
Course
The Skerne is about long and begins in Magnesian Limestone hills between Trimdon and Trimdon Grange and ends at Hurworth Place where it joins the River Tees. Three miles after the source the Skerne is joined by Hurworth Burn and enters Hurworth Burn Reservoir on the borders of Stockton-on-Tees and County Durham. On leaving the reservoir, the Skerne heads south-west towards Sedgefield. It flows through farmland between Fishburn and Sedgefield and it seems likely that the Skerne is "the fish-stream" that gives Fishburn its name. Three miles west of Fishburn, it is crossed by the A1(M) motorway near Bradbury interchange. At this point the Skerne takes a southerly course and, for about five miles (8 km) as far south as Aycliffe, it runs roughly parallel to the motorway and the East Coast Main Line. A number of smaller tributaries join the Skerne in the area and often form little islands like the Great Isle and Little Isle near Bradbury. One major tributary of the Skerne is the Woodham Burn, which rises near Shildon and flows through Newton Aycliffe. The Skerne skirts the village of Aycliffe before crossing under the motorway near its junction with the A167. After this it passes close to Brafferton and the farmland where the famousDurham Ox
The Durham Ox (March 1796 – 15 April 1807) was a Cattle#Terminology, steer who became famous in the early 19th century for his shape, size and weight. He was an early example of what became the Shorthorn breed of cattle and helped establish th ...
was bred, before heading for Barmpton, Great Burdon and Haughton-le-Skerne on the outskirts of Darlington, The Skerne then flows underneath 17 bridges in Darlington, including the railway bridge built by the Stockton and Darlington Railway and crossed by the inaugural train in 1825. The river lends its name to the Skerne Park estate in Darlington.
To the south of Darlington the Skerne passes through South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
, and then, after flowing under the A66 bridge, leaves the town to flow through countryside for its last two miles (3 km), before joining the Tees at Hurworth Place.
Settlements
''from source'' * Fishburn * Bishop Middleham * Bradbury * Newton Aycliffe * Aycliffe Village * Brafferton * Barmpton * Great Burdon * Haughton-le-Skerne * Darlington * Hurworth Place (Joins River Tees)Restoration
The River Skerne underwent a comprehensive restoration scheme between 1995 and 1998 as part of an EU-LIFE demonstration project carried out by the River Restoration Project (now The River Restoration Centre). A 2 km stretch of the river running through the town of Darlington was improved including the formation of four new meanders, planting to strengthen banks, reshaping and narrowing of the bed, installation of footpaths and a planting scheme aimed to "bringing the countryside into town".See also
* List of rivers of Great BritainReferences