The upper River Derwent in Borrowdale in the Lake District – famous for its reputation as the wettest place in England – is almost completely dry, leading experts to warn of “disastrous conditions for wildlife”.
This was the third year in a row where prolonged serious drought had dried out large parts of the river, said Ruth Mackay, a fisheries project officer from West Cumbria Rivers Trust. “Already our nature is under stress,” she said. “If a drought impacts a river, there is usually chance to recover in the succeeding years, but when it happens year after year, it becomes catastrophic for the wildlife that depend on it.”
