A tranquil feel to the River Leven this morning down by Holme’s Bridge. And warm too.
I was reminded of the halcyon days of early lockdown.
The Leven, named after the Celtic water-nymph, ‘Leuan‘.
A surprising number of rivers have names deriving from Celtic; surviving in spite of the influence of the Saxons and Scandinavians, which dominate the names of villages and hamlets.
It is striking that many Yorkshire rivers have names with a Celtic origin. The Brigantes would have known the Esk as ‘Isca‘, Don as ‘dana‘, and Ouse as ‘usso‘, all these names relating to water or a stream. The Calder, Derwent, Dove, Aire, Nidd, Tame, Tees and Ure are all derived from the Celtic.
In fact, I wonder if there are any rivers that don’t have a Celtic root?
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