| River Barle | |
|---|---|
 Tarr Steps viewed downstream
|
|
| Country | England |
| Counties | Devon, Somerset |
| Major cities | Withypool, Simonsbath |
| Landmark | Tarr Steps |
| Length | 7 mi (11 km) |
| Source | |
| - location | Near Simonsbath, Exmoor, Somerset |
| - coordinates | |
| - elevation | 400 m (1,312 ft) |
| Mouth | River Exe |
| - location | Exebridge, Devon |
| - coordinates | |
| Major tributaries | |
| - left | Little River |
| - right | Sherdon Water |
The River Barle runs from the Chains on northern Exmoor, in Somerset, England to join the River Exe at Exebridge, Devon. The river and the Barle Valley are both designated as biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The river passes under a late medieval six arch stone Landacre Bridge in Withypool,1 and the Tarr Steps a prehistoric clapper bridge possibly dating from 1000 BC. The stone slabs weigh up to 5 tons apiece. According to local legend, they were placed by the devil to win a bet. The bridge is 180 feet (55 m) long and has 17 spans.2 It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.3
Contents |
Ecology
The river flows through the Somerset Wildlife Trust's Mounsey Wood Nature Reserve and Knaplock and North Barton SSSI notified in 1954. The site is within Exmoor National Park.
The Barle Valley contains extensive tracts of ancient upland Sessile Oak ancient woodland which exhibit variations in structure and species composition as a result of difference in past management, geology and topography. The diversity of the site is increased substantially by areas of valley mire, heathland and acid grassland. Eighty five woodland vascular plant species have been recorded including thirty one ancient woodland indicators from a single compartment. The meadows are one of the few sites for Great Burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis) on Exmoor. Springs emerging from the base of sandstone slopes generate nutrient poor acid mires dominated by Sphagnum and Polytrichum moss carpets. The lichen flora is exceptional both for its luxuriance and in the number of rare species. One hundred and sixty five taxa of epiphytic lichens are present containing a remarkably large proportion of ancient woodland indicators giving the Barle a very high index of ecological continuity. The site contains an outstanding assemblage of woodland breeding birds including particularly high densities of Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix), Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). The River Barle provides an important habitat for Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) and Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), while scrub and heath have breeding Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) and Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra). Twenty species of butterfly have been recorded in the valley including the nationally scarce Marsh Fritillary (Eurodryas aurinia) and nationally vulnerable High Brown Fritillary (Argynnis adippe). Both Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus) and Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) graze areas of wood pasture. The presence of Otters (Lutra lutra) on the Barle has been regularly recorded. A colony of Dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) inhabits at least one of the Hazel coppices.4
Recreation
Angling
Salmon and Trout are regularly fished from the Barle.5
Walking
For much of the it's route the rivers banks are the path of the Two Moors Way footpath.6
Kayaking and Canoeing
The upper reaches of the Barle produced favourable rapids which appeal to whitewater kayakers. The rapids are Graded at 2 (3-) which beginner to intermediate kayakers and canoeists paddle.78
References
- ^ "Landacre Bridge". Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2008-10-18.
- ^ Leete-Hodge, Lornie (1985). Curiosities of Somerset. Bodmin: Bossiney Books, 63-64. ISBN 0906456983.
- ^ "Tarr Steps". Images of England. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ "Barle Valley". English Nature. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
- ^ "River Barle". Everything Exmoor. Retrieved on 2008-10-18.
- ^ "Walk 1860 - The River Barle and Withypool from Tarr Steps". Walking Britain. Retrieved on 2008-10-18.
- ^ "Guide to the River Barle". UK Rivers Guidebook. Retrieved on 2008-10-18.
- ^ "River Barle". British Canoe Union South West. Retrieved on 2008-10-18.
See also
|
|||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 7 November 2008, at 16:18.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by PediaView.com. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with PediaView.com.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "River Barle".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.