There is a section of the River Wharfe in Yorkshire, England, called The Strid. The Wharfe is about 25 meters wide as it flows through the countyside, but at The Strid it squeezes down to less than two meters. It is said that the river essentially turns 90° on its side, and its depth has been measured by a YouTuber at 65 meters (213 feet) at the second deepest spot. In addition, the narrow squeezing accelerates the flow and aerates the water, making it less buoyant. The limestone banks of The Strid are actually slabular overhangs, which are undercut by a labyrith of deep underwater pockets, tunnels and caves carved out by the swirling, boiling and sucking current.
As a result of these deceiving and hidden features, it is said that The Strid has had a 100% fatality rate for over a thousand years for people who have fallen into it. The first recorded death was William de Romilly of Egremont in about 1163, the future king of Scotland, when the boy tried to leap over The Strid while holding his greyhound on a leash. Wordsworth wrote a poem about the incident in 1807, of which the key lines are:
"Young Romilly through Barden woods
Is ranging high and low;
And holds a greyhound in a leash,
To let slip upon buck or doe.
"The pair have reached that fearful chasm,
How tempting to bestride!
For lordly Wharf is there pent in
With rocks on either side.
"This striding-place is called THE STRID,
A name which it took of yore:
A thousand years hath it borne that name,
And shall a thousand more.
"And hither is young Romilly come,
And what may now forbid
That he, perhaps for the hundredth time,
Shall bound across THE STRID?
"He sprang in glee,--for what cared he
That the river was strong, and the rocks were steep?--
But the greyhound in the leash hung back,
And checked him in his leap.
"The Boy is in the arms of Wharf,
And strangled by a merciless force;
For never more was young Romilly seen
Till he rose a lifeless corse."
There are many videos on YouTube about The Strid. I have selected three short ones. The first gives a brief overview of the River Wharfe and The Strid. The second shows the YouTuber going back to measure the same spot with a more sophisticated fish-finding sonar, and re-measuring the depth at 56 meters (184 feet). The third video shows a kayaker trying to run The Strid . . . and dumping.
As a result of these deceiving and hidden features, it is said that The Strid has had a 100% fatality rate for over a thousand years for people who have fallen into it. The first recorded death was William de Romilly of Egremont in about 1163, the future king of Scotland, when the boy tried to leap over The Strid while holding his greyhound on a leash. Wordsworth wrote a poem about the incident in 1807, of which the key lines are:
"Young Romilly through Barden woods
Is ranging high and low;
And holds a greyhound in a leash,
To let slip upon buck or doe.
"The pair have reached that fearful chasm,
How tempting to bestride!
For lordly Wharf is there pent in
With rocks on either side.
"This striding-place is called THE STRID,
A name which it took of yore:
A thousand years hath it borne that name,
And shall a thousand more.
"And hither is young Romilly come,
And what may now forbid
That he, perhaps for the hundredth time,
Shall bound across THE STRID?
"He sprang in glee,--for what cared he
That the river was strong, and the rocks were steep?--
But the greyhound in the leash hung back,
And checked him in his leap.
"The Boy is in the arms of Wharf,
And strangled by a merciless force;
For never more was young Romilly seen
Till he rose a lifeless corse."
There are many videos on YouTube about The Strid. I have selected three short ones. The first gives a brief overview of the River Wharfe and The Strid. The second shows the YouTuber going back to measure the same spot with a more sophisticated fish-finding sonar, and re-measuring the depth at 56 meters (184 feet). The third video shows a kayaker trying to run The Strid . . . and dumping.
