The Flow (a journey along Cumbria’s River Rawthey)

The Flow is a a writer’s journey along the rivers of England, taken after her beloved friend Kate set out with others to kayak the River Rawthey (Cumbria). But she never returned, and her death left her family and friends unmoored.

From West Country torrents to Levels and Fens, from rocky Welsh canyons to the salmon highways of Scotland – through to the chalk rivers of the Yorkshire Wolds, Amy-Jane follows springs, streams and rivers to explore tributary themes of wildness and wonder, loss and healing, mythology and history.

The River Rawthey is a scenic river in Cumbria, which flows through the Howgill Fells and Yorkshire Dales National Park. It originates near Baugh Fell, and turns towards Sedburgh, where it joins the River Dee.

The river is fed by several streams and flows through a broad, U-shaped valley. It flows near England’s highest waterfall above ground (Cautley Spout). And also passes near the 400-year Cross Keys Temperance Inn, managed by National Trust.