The
River Tees is in
Northern EnglandNorthern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
. It rises on the eastern slope of
Cross FellCross Fell is the highest point in the Pennine Hills of northern England and the highest point in England outside of the Lake District.The summit, at , is a stony plateau, part of a long ridge running North West to South East, which also incorporates Little Dun Fell at and Great Dun Fell at...
in the
North PenninesThe North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north-south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east...
, and flows eastwards for 85 miles (137 km) to reach the
North SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
between
HartlepoolHartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
and
RedcarRedcar is a seaside resort in the north east of England, and a major town in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. It lies east-northeast of Middlesbrough by the North Sea coast...
.
Geography
It drains an area of 708 square miles (1834 square km) and subsumes no important tributaries. Before the reorganization of the
historic English countiesThe historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
, the river formed the boundary between
County DurhamCounty Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
and
YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. In its lower reaches it now forms the boundary between the
ceremonial countiesThe ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of County Durham and
North YorkshireNorth Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, while in the highest part of its course it forms the boundary between the historic counties of
WestmorlandWestmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
and
DurhamCounty Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
. The head of the valley, whose upper portion is known as
TeesdaleTeesdale is a dale, or valley, of the east side of the Pennines in England. Large parts of Teesdale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - the second largest AONB in England and Wales. The River Tees rises below Cross Fell, the highest hill in the Pennines, and its...
, has a desolate grandeur, surrounded by hills, some exceeding 2500 feet (762 m), and bleak
moorlandMoorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
. This area is part of the North Pennine
Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyAn Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
, recently designated a geological Europark, the first in the UK. In the headwaters is the
Cow Green ReservoirCow Green Reservoir, is a water reservoir long built between 1967 and 1971 to supply the industries of Teesside in England..The reservoir acts as a river regulation reservoir releasing water into the River Tees during dry conditions so that it can be abstracted further downstream...
constructed to store water to be relesaed in dry conditions to supoport industrial need for water on Teesside.
A succession of falls or rapids, where the river traverses a series of hard black
basaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
rocks, is called "
Cauldron SnoutCauldron Snout is a waterfall on the upper reaches of the River Tees in Northern England, immediately below the dam of the Cow Green Reservoir. It is well upstream of the High Force waterfall, and is on the boundary between County Durham and Cumbria, England...
". From immediately below this to its mouth, the Tees forms the boundary between the traditional counties of Durham and
YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
almost without a break, although since 1974 much of it lies wholly in Durham. The dale becomes bolder below Cauldron Snout, and trees appear, contrasting with the broken rocks where the water dashes over
High ForceHigh Force is a waterfall on the River Tees, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, Teesdale, County Durham, England. The waterfall is within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and European Geopark....
.
The scenery becomes gentler and more picturesque as it descends past
Middleton-in-TeesdaleMiddleton-in-Teesdale is a small market town in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the north side of Teesdale between Eggleston and Newbiggin, a few miles to the north west of Barnard Castle...
(Durham). This locality has
leadLead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and
ironIron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
stone resources. The ancient
townA town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of
Barnard CastleBarnard Castle is an historical town in Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is named after the castle around which it grew up. It sits on the north side of the River Tees, opposite Startforth, south southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne, south southwest of Sunderland, west of Middlesbrough and ...
,
Egglestone AbbeyEgglestone Abbey is an abandoned Premonstratensian Abbey on the eastern bank of the River Tees, 1½ miles south-east of Barnard Castle in County Durham, England, at...
, and Rokeby Hall, well known through Sir
Walter ScottSir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's poem, are each passed; and then the valley begins to open out, and traverses the rich plain east and south of
DarlingtonDarlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
in sweeping curves.
The course of the valley down to here has been generally east south east, but it now turns northeast and, nearing the sea, becomes an important commercial waterway, with the ports of
Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
and
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
on its banks. It passes through the
Tees BarrageThe Tees Barrage is a barrage across the River Tees just upriver of Blue House Point in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East of England and is used to control the flow of the river, preventing flooding and the effects of tidal change....
between these ports, turning tidal downstream from the barrage.
TeesportTeesport is a large sea port located in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire in north east England...
is built on reclaimed land on the south side of the Tees
estuaryAn estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
below Middlesbrough.
Seal Sands
Before the heavy pollution of the Tees by industry, the flats at Seal Sands in the estuary were home to Common Seals and
Grey SealThe grey seal is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or "true seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus...
s. For around 10 years these species were absent from the estuary due to pollution. But recently water quality has improved dramatically, and the seals can once again be seen in the estuary and on the flats at
Seal SandsSeal Sands is a 294.37 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Cleveland, England, notified in 1966.Situated in the mouth of the River Tees next to Greatham Creek and Seaton-on-Tees Channel, and accessible from the A178 road running between Seaton Carew and Port Clarence.- Source...
. The Seal Sands area is now designated as the Teesmouth National Nature Reserve.
Alterations
In the early 19th century the river was straightened, thus saving money and time in navigation. Between Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough, the river previously meandered first south and then north of its current channel. Two "cuts", known as the Mandale Cut and the Portrack Cut were made to straighten its course. Before these cuts were made, the journey by sailing barge from Thornaby to Middlesbrough, allowing for tides and other factors, could take as long as the journey from the mouth of the Tees to London. The Mandale Cut was the shorter of the two, at about 200m, with the Portrack Cut being considerably longer, although the northern meander it removed was smaller than the southern meander. Neither meander is visible today, except for the flow of Stainsby Beck into a waterway which is marked on maps first as "The Fleet" and then "Old River Tees". The current
Tees BarrageThe Tees Barrage is a barrage across the River Tees just upriver of Blue House Point in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East of England and is used to control the flow of the river, preventing flooding and the effects of tidal change....
is close to the site of the Mandale Cut.
Since the cuts were made, the river has continued to undergo alterations on its bed and banks to make it deeper and more navigable. The channel has been made considerably narrower by dumping ship's ballast and ironworks slag along the former banks, increasing the scouring due to its natural flow. Maps made prior to 1900 show that between Stockton and Middlesbrough the river flowed in a channel up to 330 yards (301.8 m) wide in places, with many shoals and sandbars. The modern channel varies between 110 yards (100.6 m) and 220 yards (201.2 m) or even a bit more.
Legends and folklore
Peg PowlerThe Peg Powler is a hag from English folklore with a green skin, long hair and sharp teeth who is said to inhabit the River Tees. She grabs the ankles of those who wander too close to the water's edge, especially naughty children, and pulls them under the water and drowns them; in Middleton In...
is a
hagA hag is a wizened old woman, or a kind of fairy or goddess having the appearance of such a woman, often found in folklore and children's tales such as Hansel and Gretel. Hags are often seen as malevolent, but may also be one of the chosen forms of shapeshifting deities, such as the Morrígan or...
in English folklore who is said to inhabit the River Tees.
In popular culture
The River Tees was featured in the television series
Seven Natural WondersSeven Natural Wonders was a television series that was broadcast on BBC Two from 3 May to 20 June 2005. The programme took an area of England each week and, from votes by the people living in that area, showed the 'seven natural wonders' of that area in a programme.The programmes were:The series...
as one of the wonders of the North, and in the post-apocalyptic drama
The Last TrainThe Last Train is a British six-part post-apocalyptic television drama serial first broadcast on the ITV network in 1999. It has since been repeated on ITV2 in 1999/2001 and on numerous occasions on the UK Sci-Fi Channel...
having blown its banks.
See also
- List of crossings of the River Tees
- List of settlements on the River Tees
- Rivers of the United Kingdom
- Tees Valley
The Tees Valley is an area in the North East of England. It can be described as "greater Teesside" and consists of the four unitary authorities created by the breakup of the County of Cleveland in 1996: Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, and Stockton-On-Tees along with the borough of...
- Teesdale
Teesdale is a dale, or valley, of the east side of the Pennines in England. Large parts of Teesdale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - the second largest AONB in England and Wales. The River Tees rises below Cross Fell, the highest hill in the Pennines, and its...
- Teesdale Way
The Teesdale Way is a long distance walk between the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire and the Cumbrian Pennines in England. The walk is 100 miles / 161 km in length, it links in with other long distance walks such as the Pennine Way and the E2 European Walk between Harwich and Stranraer.The...
- Teesside
Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in the north east of England made up of the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Billingham and surrounding settlements near the River Tees. It was also the name of a local government district between 1968 and 1974—the County Borough of...
External links