River Manifold

The river rises to the north of Flash Head, close to the A53 road, at an elevation of around . It initially flows southwards, on the western flank of a large hill, and then eastwards along its southern flank. It is crossed by a minor road at Dun Cow's Grove, and turns to the south-east. It is joined by several small streams and soon after reaching Hardings Booth, it is joined by Oakenclough Brook. This tributary flows eastwards and then turns to the north to join the Manifold on its right bank. As the Manifold approaches Longnor, there are sluices and a weir in the channel, which provided water to a mill leat supplying Longnor Sawmill. The two-storey, six-bay mill building dates from the early 19th century, and has been used to crush bones as well as sawing wood. It is Grade II listed and when it was surveyed in 1984, a cast iron overshot wheel and associated machinery were still in situ, while the building was being restored. The nearby bridge, with one shallow arch, dates from the same period and is also Grade II listed. The B5053 road to the south of Longnor crosses the river at Windy Arbour Bridge, which is of similar date and construction. The river turns to the south, where the river channel was straightened between 1801 and 1838. This work has resulted in a section of river with poor habitat. The river resumes its meandering course southwards near Ludburn, A minor road crosses at Brund Mill, and when the river reaches Hulme End, the B5054 road crosses on a 19th century ashlar bridge with one arch. ==Manifold Way==

The Manifold Way is an long-distance footpath and cycle track from Hulme End to Waterhouses, along the former route of the narrow-gauge (2' 6") Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway which operated between 1904 and 1934. Opened in July 1937 after the LMS handed over the trackbed to Staffordshire County Council, it is tarmacked throughout. The Manifold Valley Visitor Centre is housed in Hulme End Station, which also has a model of the railway. ==Limestone crags and caves==

The limestone cliffs that fringe the valley contain several rock-climbing areas, and named rock features, including Thor's Cave () and Beeston Tor (), which overlooks the confluence with the River Hamps. ==Mining in the Manifold valley==

The Manifold valley was famous for the mining of copper and lead, and the mines at Ecton were some of the richest in the country. The discovery of Stone Age implements in some of the caves imply that minerals were mined around the Manifold valley thousands of years ago. Nowadays there is little trace of the industry that made many people (mainly the Duke of Devonshire who at one time owned the Ecton mines) very rich. The main areas of interest are around Ecton where the old spoil banks and the old engine house still remain. ==Ecology==

The Environment Agency measure the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates, angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. The water quality of the River Manifold system was as follows in 2019. The River Manifold section includes much of the Warslow Brook and a small part of Blake Brook. Prior to 2015, the chemical status was Fail, due to the presence of cadmium and its compounds. It was good in 2015 and 2016, but cadmium and its compounds were again a problem in the 2019 assessment. The River Hamps is also affected by cadmiun and by nickel and its compounds, Like most rivers in the UK, failure of the chemical status was partly due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and mercury compounds, neither of which had previously been included in the assessment. The river has been noted as being important for European bullhead and lamprey. In the underground section of the river where it resurfaces at Ilam, the bullhead have no pigmentation. It was previously a stronghold for white-clawed crayfish, but most of the river's population were wiped out by crayfish plague in 2008. Crayfish have been noted in the tributaries of the Manifold and it is hoped that re-colonisation can be achieved by the surviving upstream crayfish. ==See also==