The Derbyshire Wye

‘Flowing from Buxton to Rowsley, the Derbyshire Wye is a relatively short river covering some 15 miles in its total length. Filtered predominately by limestone, the Wye’s water runs extremely clear meaning it is a perfect birthplace for all matter of species that live in and around the river. The alkalinity of the Wye provides a rich source of nutrients that leads to an abundance of insects and invertebrates.

Due to the careful and organic management of the river that Haddon Estate owns, the Wye is nationally recognised as the benchmark for invertebrates. High counts of blue winged olives, caddis, gammarus, mayfly to name but a few, is all helped by Haddon’s zero tolerance of pesticides in and around the river corridor. Carefully placed buffer strips also ensure low levels of erosion that would otherwise be caused by cattle and sheep.

The fish that live in the Wye are very special too! With Haddon taking the plunge with the cessation of stocking in 2003, we can honestly say that the fish within the river that flows through the Haddon Estate are truly wild. Along with brown trout and grayling, the Wye is the only river in the country to have a large population of spring spawning wild rainbow trout.

Careful management of trees, spawning gravels and in-stream cover, notably through the parkland area by Haddon Hall, sees a huge population of fish of all age classes in abundance. This in turn attracts native wildlife such as otters, kingfishers, ospreys and dippers.

Good wetland areas in the lower meadows, with large iris and sedge beds, give the water voles the best chance to recolonise, and along the river edges can be found an abundance of marginal vegetation including: meadowsweet, greater pond sedge, broad leaved willowherb, marsh thistle, common reedmace, meadow vetchling, water mint, water figwort and water forget-me-not, all interwoven with Willows, Alders, Poplar, Oak and Ash.

The re-wilding of the land and river around Haddon Hall and its ancient parkland is maturing very well.

We look forward to seeing what new species of wildlife we can find over the coming years.’

Jan Hobot – Riverkeeper, Haddon Hall Estate