The Duddon is a river of north-west England. It rises at a point 1289 ft above sea level near the Three Shire Stone at the highest point of Wrynose Pass. The river descends to the sea over a course of about 15 mi before entering the Irish Sea at the Duddon Sands. In total, from source to the westernmost part of Duddon Sands, its length is 43 km. For its entire length the Duddon forms the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cumberland and since local government re-organisation in 1974 the Duddon has been in the ceremonial county of Cumbria. The catchment area of the River Duddon includes a substantial part of the south-western Lake District fells, including the eastern slopes of Corney Fell, Ulpha Fell and Harter Fell; the southern slopes of the mountains around the head of Langdale, and the western slopes of Dunnerdale and Seathwaite Fells. From its source the Duddon falls rapidly over a distance of two miles (3.2 km) to Cockley Beck at the head of Dunnerdale. Close to the hamlet of Seathwaite the Tarn Beck from Seathwaite Tarn is subsumed. The river then takes a south-westerly direction to Ulpha Bridge. Passing under the Duddon Valley road, the river assumes a southerly course to Duddon Bridge where it is crossed by the A595 trunk road. After about a mile (1.6 km) the Duddon becomes tidal as it opens into the Duddon Estuary between Furness and south-west Cumberland.

Literary associations

Subsequent sonnets followed the river downstream, past Birks Bridge (Sonnet XI), to Ulpha (Sonnet XXII), before reaching “the Deep...over smooth flat sands” with Sonnet XXXII.

Recreation

The River Duddon is a salmon fishery. The section of the river downstream from Seathwaite is popular with canoeists and is graded as 3 with some easy 4. From Birks Bridge, through Troutal Gorge to Seathwaite there are some difficult canoeing sections graded at 5 requiring higher water levels to navigate. Many parts of the Duddon Valley are visited by tourists, but the location is outside the main tourist area of the Lake District. Consequently, most of the visitors are day trippers who live locally, or who travel from elsewhere in northern England: Hunter Davies considered its unfrequented nature one of its great attractions.

Duddon in art