River Esk, Cumbria

The River Esk is a river in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is one of two River Esks in Cumbria, and not to be confused with the River Esk which flows near the Scottish border.

It rises in the Sca Fell range of mountains at a height of 800 metres, just below Esk Hause, the mountain pass between the fells of Great End and Esk Pike. The infant river then flows southerly through wild and picturesque countryside making the leap over several waterfalls before being joined by its first major tributary Lingcove Beck at Lingcove Bridge. Within a few miles the Esk passes Brotherilkeld Farm, which formerly belonged to the monks of Furness Abbey, at this point it is joined by Hardknott Beck and the river now flows westerly through the farmland of Eskdale and is accompanied by the motor road which goes down the valley. The Esk continues past the small villages of Boot and Eskdale Green before joining the Irish Sea at Ravenglass. The name "Esk" is a shortened form of the word 'esker' - this is a landform caused by glacial deposition. The river is so named because there is a prime example of an esker in the Esk's valley.