Barney Beck

Barney Beck
A ravine in moorland with a stony beck in the bottom of the ravine
Barney Beck
Relif map of North Yorkshire
Relif map of North Yorkshire
Location within North Yorkshire
Location
CountryEngland
CountyNorth Yorkshire
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • coordinates54°23′39″N 2°00′28″W / 54.3941°N 2.0079°W / 54.3941; -2.0079
 • elevation310 metres (1,020 ft)
Mouth 
 • coordinates
54°22′54″N 1°58′38″W / 54.3816°N 1.9772°W / 54.3816; -1.9772
 • elevation
190 metres (620 ft)
Length6.170 kilometres (3.834 mi)
Basin size
5.6 square kilometres (2.2 sq mi)
Basin features
River systemRiver Swale
EA waterbody ID
GB104027069080

Barney Beck is a tributary of the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England. The beck flows through moorland in Upper Swaledale and is known to be one of several streams in North Yorkshire that feed pollution into the River Swale, a legacy of the mining that took place in that area for lead and other metals. Efforts are being made to remediate the earth around the beck to prevent metals leaching out into the watercourse.

History

Old mineworkings line the sides of the beck, and the Surrender Mill lead-working plant was located just upstream of where Bleaberry Gill joins the watercourse. An estimated 550,000 tonnes (610,000 tons) of lead was mined in the area, which was dominated by the Old Gang mines clustered around Barney Beck. Also in this area is the Surrender Bridge, a single-arch grade II listed structure which crosses Barney Beck. Bleaberry Gill is noted for having a ford on it which became well-known to viewers of the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small, as an old black car splashes through the ford on the opening credits.

During the 18th century, the beck was known as Bernopbeck, or Bernolfbeck. Whitaker suggests that the name has Saxon origins, possibly meaning child's, or infant beck, but he also states it could possibly be from the personal name of Beorn. It is recorded as far back as 1383, when it was mentioned as a boundary between common land for grazing cattle. Whilst mapping and other sources contend that the watercourse is called Barney Beck only after it meets Bleaberry Gill, the Environment Agency consider the two streams as one watercourse with a length of 12.4 kilometres (7.7 mi) and a catchment area of 1,628 hectares (4,020 acres). The length of Barney Beck on its own from the confluence of Old Gang Beck and Bleaberry Gill is 6.17 kilometres (3.83 mi) and a catchment area of 5.6 square kilometres (2.2 sq mi).

Two road bridges cross the watercourse before it enters into the River Swale; the B6270 crosses the beck not far from where it enters the Swale over Barney Beck Low Bridge, whereas Barney Beck High Bridge is further upstream and is a grade II listed structure. The upper part of the beck around Surrender Bridge, is shadowed by the Coast to Coast path, which is now a national trail.

Pollution

Barney Beck is known to be polluted with fluorite, lead, zinc, and cadmium. Sampling taken from the River Swale, and its tributaries in the Reeth area, shows that the stretch of water downstream of Barney Beck displays the highest levels of pollutants along the river, with contaminants of lead, cadmium and zinc. In a programme undertaken by the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, a mix of bacteria, algae, lichens, and mosses have been introduced which enable plant growth on bare soil and the plants will absorb heavy metals at the surface and stop them being washed into the beck.

Other tributaries of the Swale which are also polluting the river with metals are Gunnerside Beck, Arkle Beck and Marske Beck.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "OL30" (Map). Northern & Central Area. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2016. ISBN 978-0-319-26335-8.
  2. ↑ Dennis 2005, pp. 32, 38.
  3. ↑ Gilham, John (1994). Pennine ways Edale to Kirk Yetholm for the independent walker. Ramsbury: Crowood. p. 154. ISBN 1852238410.
  4. ↑ Dennis 2005, p. 38.
  5. ↑ Historic England. "Surrender Bridge (Grade II) (1301536)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "Foregill Gate water splash". accesshub.yorkshiredales.org.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Hanks, Martyn (1997). Yorkshire Dales and Moors: youth hosteller's walking guide. Ashbourne: landmark. p. 144. ISBN 1901522415.
  8. ↑ Richwald, Olivia; Bryson, Julia (24 October 2024). "All Creatures Great and Small bridge memorials removed". BBC News. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Fleming, Andrew (2010) [1998]. Swaledale; valley of the wild river. Oxford: Windgather Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-84217-372-5.
  10. ↑ Whitaker, Thomas Dunham (1823). An [sic] history of Richmondshire, in the North riding of the county of York: together with those parts of the Everwicschire of Domesday which form the wapentakes of Lonsdale, Ewecross, and Westmoreland volume 1. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Browne. p. 13. OCLC 732136565.
  11. ↑ Fleming, Andrew (2010) [1998]. Swaledale; valley of the wild river. Oxford: Windgather Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-84217-372-5.
  12. ↑ Palmer, J. A. (1983). Barium and heavy metals in the waters and aquatic invertebrates of the catchment of bleaberry gill [sic], North Yorkshire (PDF). etheses.durham.ac.uk (Thesis). Durham: Durham University. p. 46. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "Barney Bk/Hard Level Gill from Source to R Swale | Catchment Data Explorer | Catchment Data Explorer". environment.data.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Baynes, E. R. C.; Kincey, M. E.; Warburton, J. (28 May 2023). "Extreme Flood Sediment Production and Export Controlled by Reach‐Scale Morphology". Geophysical Research Letters. 50 (10): 2. doi:10.1029/2023GL103042.
  15. ↑ "River Swale tributaries/Barney Beck/Barney Beck at Low Bridge (B6270)". environment.data.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  16. ↑ Historic England. "Barney Beck High Bridge (Grade II) (1318629)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  17. ↑ Hannon, Paul (2010). Coast to coast walk: the classic walk across Northern England. Keighley: Hillside. p. 93. ISBN 9781907626012.
  18. ↑ Savage, Danny (26 March 2026). "Coast to Coast trail: Walking one of England's most spectacular hikes after £5.5m upgrade". BBC News. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  19. ↑ Dennis 2005, p. 23.
  20. ↑ "Protecting Barney Beck". www.yorkshiredales.org.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2026. Expand sections to reveal information
  21. ↑ Dennis 2005, p. 46.
  22. ↑ Engelbrecht, Gavin (3 April 2026). "New work to restore rivers polluted by former mines". Darlington & Stockton Times. No. 14–2026. pp. 1, 4. ISSN 2516-5348.
  23. ↑ "Swale, Ure, Nidd, Ouse Upper management catchment: baseline length of rivers and estuaries polluted by abandoned metal mines". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

Sources

  • Dennis, Ian (2005). "2:The River Swale catchment and its mining history". The impact of historical metal mining on the River Swale catchment, North Yorkshire, U.K. [sic] (Thesis). Aberystwyth: University of Wales. OCLC 1110347258.