River Dibb

River Dibb
River Dibb at Dibbles Bridge, which carries the B6265 between Pateley Bridge and Threshfield
Country	England
Basin
Main source	Grimwith Reservoir 253 metres (830 ft) 54°4′48″N 1°54′41″W / 54.08000°N 1.91139°W / 54.08000; -1.91139 (Primary source of River Dibb)
River mouth	River Wharfe nr Appletreewick 143 metres (469 ft) 54°02′28″N 1°56′35″W / 54.0410°N 1.9431°W / 54.0410; -1.9431 (Mouth of River Dibb)Coordinates: 54°02′28″N 1°56′35″W / 54.0410°N 1.9431°W / 54.0410; -1.9431 (Mouth of River Dibb)
Basin size	25.5 square kilometres (9.8 sq mi)
Physical characteristics
Length	5.2 kilometres (3.2 mi)

The River Dibb is located in North Yorkshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Wharfe. Grimwith Reservoir is at the head of the River Dibb at a point some 2½ miles from Appletreewick. The name is possibly derived from the Olde English dib, a dialectical form of dip meaning hollow and recorded in local 13th century records as Dybbe, a now lost hamlet near Burnsall.^[1]

Course

The river starts from the south side of Grimwith Reservoir and flows south-west through Burnett Fold Nook and then south before returning south-west to pass under the B6265 at Dibble's Bridge, which has been the scene of two coach crashes - one in 1925 when seven people were killed, and one in 1975 when 32 people were killed. Below its confluence with Holes Beck, the Ordnance Survey maps show the name of the river changing to Barben Beck.^[2] It follows a mostly southerly course through Rough Close Wood and Barnscar Plantation to Rookcroft Wood. It turns west through Sprinsgide Wood and then south-west again past Hartlington Mill, where it was once used to power a 5.5 m-diameter undershot water wheel,^[3][4] and under Hartlington Bridge before joining the River Wharfe.

• 
  Hartlington Hall

Folklore

Dibble's Bridge is sometimes referred to as Devil's Bridge. It is traditionally said to have been built by the Devil for a shoemaker named Ralph Calvert, after Calvert offered the Devil a drink.^[5]

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