River Wye, Derbyshire

The River Wye is a limestone river in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. It is 23.9 miles (38.5 km) long, although it is widely quoted as being 15 miles (24 km) long, which refers to the section within the National Park. It is one of the major tributaries of the River Derwent, which flows into the River Trent, and ultimately into the Humber and the North Sea.

The river rises just west of Buxton, on Axe Edge Moor, and the flow is augmented by water which passes underground through Poole's Cavern before rising at Wye Head. The two sources join as they cross the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton. The river then flows east through the dales of the Wye Valley, along a route roughly followed by the A6 road. It enters the Peak District, flows just south of Tideswell, then through Ashford in the Water and Bakewell, passing to the south of Haddon Hall, before meeting the River Derwent at Rowsley. The main tributary of the river is the River Lathkill, which enters approximately one mile from its mouth.

It is possible to walk alongside much of the length of the river, either following public or permissive footpaths that run along the river bank, or following the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway line, part of which is now the Monsal Trail and provides views of the river. Its final crossing of the river at Monsal Dale is by a viaduct some 70 feet (21 m) above the river, which enraged the writer John Ruskin at the time it was built, but is now a listed structure.

The River Wye is one of Derbyshire's best-known rivers and is popular with anglers because of the large numbers of wild brown, rainbow trout and grayling it contains. The alkalinity of the Wye provides a rich source of nutrients that leads to an abundance of insects, invertebrates and other wildlife. This ensures that the trout and grayling grow quickly on a diet of freshwater shrimp, caddisfly and mayfly. The river is the only river in Britain known to support a breeding population of rainbow trout, as most varieties do not breed in British waters.

The river has supplied water power to a number of water mills along its length in the past. Those on the upper river were largely used for milling corn, but cotton mills were a feature of buildings further down stream. Some have disappeared without trace, but several of the buildings have been reused for other purposes. Cauldwell Mill survived until recently, being operated by a charitable trust after it ceased commercial production in 1974. It served as a tourist attraction, but it closed in 2023 when the trust became bankrupt.