Kershope Burn

Kershope Burn is a small river; a tributary of both the Liddel Water and the River Esk; its final destination is the Solway Firth. The early stages begin in the Border Forest, from where it flows in a south westerly direction, followed in its entirety by the border between England and Scotland.

Natural England maps
Maps for Kershope Burn and the surrounding area, showing Administrative Geographies, Designations and other criteria from Natural England:


 * MAGiC MaP : Anglo-Scottish border – Bloody Bush Road.


 * MAGiC MaP : Source – Clarks Sike – Hobbs Flow.


 * MAGiC MaP : Hobb's Flow – Kielder Mires SSSI.


 * MAGiC MaP : Anglo-Scottish border – Limy Sike.


 * MAGiC MaP : Kershopehead – Bothy – Forest Inventory.


 * MAGiC MaP : Kershopefoot – Liddel Water.

Name
The toponym for Kershope Burn might be:
 * Small river of the water−cress valley.

The name element Kers is from Old English êacerse (êa..cerse) "water−cress".

The name element hope is from Old English hōp or Middle English hope ( " valley " ).

Place names with the name element hope are common in the North Pennines, especially in the lead mining areas of Weardale.

Name legacy
The following place names are related:
 * Kershopehead (bothy).
 * Scottish Kershope – English Kershope
 * Kershope Bridge
 * Kershopefoot
 * Kershope Forest

Course of burn


Overview of course of burn:


 * Bloody Bush Road – Toll pillar.
 * Source – Clark's Sike – Hobb's Flow.
 * Confluence of Limy Sike.
 * English county boundary; Northumberland – Cumbria
 * Kershopehead (Bothy).
 * Scottish Kershope – English Kershope
 * Kershope Bridge
 * Kershopefoot
 * Confluence with Liddel Water.

The river rises, as Clark's Sike, in a marshy area in Kielder Forest Northumberland known as Hobb's Flow, before becoming Kershope Burn after running by Kershopehead, a farmstead in Cumbria.

The river runs into Liddel Water at Kershopefoot, after which Liddel Water marks the boundary between England and Scotland. The final few metres (yards) of the river flow past the hamlet at Kershopefoot and underneath the railway bridge of the former Waverley Line. Between 1862 and 1969 a passenger station variously known as Kershope or Kershope Foot was located here.

Clarks Sike
Clark's Sike is the primary feeder for the Kershope Burn and also defines the Anglo-Scottish border for a short distance.

Hobbs Flow
The area of blanket bog to the east of Clark's Sike is known as Hobb's Flow, and is part of the Kielder Mires SSSI.

James Logan Mack issued this warning: In a wet season its passage should not be attempted and even in a dry one the traveller is not free of the risk of being engulfed in this morass. ..

The name element Hobb may be derived from folklore that was introduced into the area by migrant workers.

The name element Flow is a word used (especially in Scotland) to describe a " morass or marsh ".

Ecology of burn
There is evidence to suggest that the burn may have some characteristics that are typical of a chalk stream, for example a high alkaline mineral content:


 * The name Kershope ( "Watercress valley" ).
 * The citation for the Kielder Mires SSSI mentions lime-rich influence.
 * The existence of grade C petrifying springs within the Kielder Mires SSSI.
 * The name of the tributary Limy Sike suggests that the water contains limestone.
 * There are remains of Lime kilns in the local area.

Kielder Mires SSSI
The mires are situated within and around the huge forestry plantations of Kielder Forest and Wark Forest.

The Kielder Mires SSSI is designated:
 * National nature reserve.
 * Ramsar site.
 * Special Area of Conservation.

Toll pillar
A Grade II* listed 19th century toll pillar marks a significant point on the Anglo-Scottish border where the Bloody Bush road crosses from England into Scotland.

The Bloody Bush road was an important trade route between England and Scotland, in particular for the transport of coal from the Lewisburn Colliery in England to the Scottish border townsthat were becoming increasingly industrialised.

Local tradition and folklore
The name Bloody Bush refers to a local story that narrate's how a band of Border reivers from Tynedale were massacred by Scots after they had been caught stealing cattle from Liddesdale.

The road was an important trade route between Lewisburn Colliery and the Scottish border towns. It is possible that migrant workers introduced the folklore from whence the name Hobbs Flow was derived.