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The river forges its way through the Peak District’s UNESCO-World heritage sites. Rising in heather-clad uplands, the Dove weaves through broadleaf woodlands, flower-rich grasslands and arable lands. The Dove is enjoyed by anglers, ramblers and wildlife alike and it has been for quite some time. In 1676 Charles Cotton praised the Dove as ‘the finest River that I ever saw, and the fullest of fish’. While Izaac Walton’s ‘The Complete Angler’ enthuses about ‘the swiftness of its current’, ‘one of the purest Chrystalline streams you have seen’.
Confluencing into the Dove, the River Churnet, Tean, Manifold, Hamps form this predominantly rural catchment area. Within this catchment, the industrial revolution and historic milling continues to echo, as barriers change flow regimes and restrict species migration. Both stories of successful reintroductions and persistent barriers continue to shape resilience, biodiversity and water quality. While weirs and other obstacles are part of the region’s rich cultural heritage, restoration works are starting to restore the ‘swiftness of its current’ and give aquatic wildlife the conditions it needs to recover and thrive.
Following a programmme of salmon re-introduction, facilitated by the removal of a series of weirs, the Dove is slowly returning to become a river that can once again become a haven for threatened species. Learning from the experience, long-term commitment, shared collaboration are key to success in the Dove and beyond.
The Dove faces fundamental pressure from agriculture and habitat modification. In some of the catchment, water abstraction to supply drinking water reservoirs creates artificial flow conditions and an increased sensitivity towards drought, especially at Henmore Brook. Sewage, like in other parts of the catchment, puts further pressure on this important site for fish and other aquatic species. Climate change and the increased likelihood of low flow conditions, as experienced in summer 2022, further concentrate the toxicity in the water.
Agricultural pressures result in soils and sediment reaching the watercourse, affecting habitat conditions and nutrient levels in the water. Pollution is both point-source and diffuse and low impact farming is key in reducing pollution levels. A focus here lies on silt, and its capacity to put spawning grounds at risk.
Silt is an issue that intensifies as barriers, such as weirs can trap sediment that would otherwise be flushed downstream. Barriers also restrict migration, not only of the great migration icons such as the critically endangered European eel and Atlantic salmon, but also smaller fish, travelling through different river sections to complete their life-cycle.
Mineral extraction is a common theme across the entire Trent catchment. There are significant deposits of aggregate minerals – sands and gravels, along the Lower Dove. Existing live extraction sites and more sites allocated for future use which will have a significant impact on the landscape in the short-medium term.
While such sites put habitat at risk, at site and downstream, their restoration provides the opportunity for nature and for rivers to be restored.
Renowned for a casual bob it performs on small riverside rocks, the quirks of the Dipper are a sight to behold. Often found on the Dove’s babbling watercourses, this species feeds on aquatic invertebrates and small fish. Balancing in the shallow, but fast-moving water the Dipper uses its wings to balance and feed from the riverbed.
Globally endangered, but with a local presence in the Dove, the White-Clawed crayfish is a sign of good river health and absence of its predatory American cousin, the Signal crayfish. While the White-clawed, cream coloured species is up to 12cm and shy in character, the Signal crayfish tends to take over habitat and food sources, putting the white-clawed species at risk of local extinction.
Historically, the Dove was a stronghold for both salmon and trout, There are likely to be small numbers of native trout, augmented by stocked fish from the angling community.
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