The river rises, as Clark's Sike, in a marshy area in Kielder ForestNorthumberland 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.[9]
Source of burnedit
Clarks Sikeedit
Clark's Sike[o]
is the primary feeder for the Kershope Burn and also defines the Anglo-Scottish border for a short distance.[2]
Hobbs Flowedit
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.
In a wet season its passage should not be attemptedand even in a dry one the traveller is not free of the riskof being engulfed in this morass. . .
The name element Hobb may be derived from folklore that was introduced into the area by migrant workers.[q]
The name element Flow is a word used (especially in Scotland) to describe a " morass or marsh ".
[r][s]
Ecology of burnedit
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:
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.[y]
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 towns[z]that were becoming increasingly industrialised.
[aa][ab]
Local tradition and folkloreedit
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.
[ac]
The road was an important trade route between Lewisburn Colliery and the Scottish border towns. It is possible that migrant workers[ad] introduced the folklore from whence the name Hobbs Flow was derived.
^WiKtionary : English < sike >
" A gutter or ditch; a small stream that frequently dries up in the summer."
^Clark's Sike[c] is the primary feeder for the Kershope Burn and also defines the Anglo-Scottish border. The area of blanket bog to the east is known as Hobb's Flow, and is part of the Kielder Mires SSSI.
^ WiKtionary : English < haugh > " A low-lying meadow by the side of a river. "
^Flora Britannica ( Richard Mabey ).[8] . .Water-cress was traditionally picked wild from the edges of fast-flowing streams
. . .It was important enough for settlements to be named after it. . .Examples:
"Anything that entraps or makes progress difficult".
^ See Watercress > British Isles > . . .Clear fast-flowing chalk streams are the primary habitat for wild watercress. . .
^Kielder Mires SSSI (Natural England). . .On lower slopes, some flushes show lime-rich influence from the underlying glacial drift. . .[11]
^Walking the Border ( Ian Crofton ).[13] . .The map marked a disused kiln. . .quarrying limestone. . .I was to camp beside a burn called Limy Sike. . .[13]
^Walking the Border ( Ian Crofton ).[17] . .The Bloody Bush road. . .was once an important trade route
. . .Before the railway was built in 1862, coal was taken this way. . .destined for the Border textile mills . . .[17]
^ See Hawick > . . .By the late 17th century, the town began to grow significantly, especially during the Industrial Revolution
. . .as a centre for the production of textiles, with a focus on knitting and weaving. . .
^Walking the Border ( Ian Crofton ).[18] . .A band of reivers from Tynedale. . .In the night a posse of vengeful Scots fell upon them. . .[18]