Restored Cumbrian river sees rapid return of Atlantic salmon after 200 years

Centuries after people forced a Cumbrian river into a straight, artificial channel, nature has reclaimed its original course in the Lake District, bringing endangered wild fish back to historic spawning grounds almost immediately. In the summer of 2016, conservationists restored a 1.1-kilometre stretch of Swindale Beck near Haweswater by putting its natural bends back into the river. Diggers created winding curves along the valley floor to replace a straight, raised channel built by farmers about 200 years earlier. Within three months of the work being completed, Atlantic salmon were seen spawning in the newly created gravel beds for the first time in living memory. The £212,500 project was jointly managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and landowner United Utilities, working with the Environment Agency and Natural England. By allowing the river to follow a more natural path, the project aimed to slow fast water, improve drinking water quality, reduce flood risks downstream and restore lost habitats across the catchment.

Undoing two centuries of modification

About 200 years ago, local farmers changed Swindale Beck to drain the surrounding land and move water away from the hills as quickly as possible. Straightening the river created more usable farmland, but the fast-moving water carried away natural gravel and sediment. Without slower sections and pools where fish could rest, important gravel beds were washed downstream. The straight and fast channel also made it difficult for migratory fish such as Atlantic salmon and brown trout to lay their eggs in that part of the river. To repair the damage, conservationists used old maps and digital elevation data to work out the river's original course. Diggers then created a new 1.1-kilometre winding channel along old natural river paths on the valley floor. Water was redirected into the new channel, while parts of the old artificial ditch were filled in and replanted with native plants from nearby hay meadows designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Soon after the new channel was opened, heavy rain hit the valley. Instead of damaging the newly built banks, the storm helped move river gravel naturally, creating the mix of pools and shallow, fast-flowing sections needed by aquatic life.

The immediate return of Atlantic salmon

The river's recovery happened faster than expected. Within weeks of the project being completed, Atlantic salmon travelling from the Solway Firth through the River Eden system reached the newly created bends of Swindale Beck. John Gorst, Catchment Officer at United Utilities, pointed to the problems caused by the old river design and welcomed the quick recovery. "It's fantastic that salmon are now spawning in the restored river channel. The old, straightened channel was far from ideal, as it resulted in high water flows, which removed the small gravels which salmon require for spawning," said Gorst. The return of spawning salmon was a major conservation success for a species that has declined sharply in English rivers because of warmer water, pollution and physical barriers. Lee Schofield, Senior Site Manager at RSPB Haweswater, said the restored variety in the landscape helped bring back natural ecosystem processes. "Where you have physical diversity, you get ecological diversity – the whole thing just builds itself back together again, and comes back to life," said Schofield. Along with Atlantic salmon, trout soon moved into the new pools, while otters returned to hunt along the riverbanks. More aquatic insects and other small creatures also provided extra food for river birds such as dippers.

Flood relief and cleaner drinking water

Restoring the connection between Swindale Beck and its natural floodplain also brought practical benefits for nearby communities and regional water supplies. By making the river wind through the valley instead of rushing through a straight channel, the project reduced peak storm flows downstream by more than 20 per cent. The slower flow helped reduce flood risks for communities downstream in Cumbria, an area that suffered serious damage during Storm Desmond in late 2015. The project also improved the quality of raw water entering Haweswater Reservoir, an important drinking water source managed by United Utilities that supplies more than two million people across North West England. Reducing bank erosion and allowing water to pass through restored hay meadows and nearby peatlands helped cut the amount of dissolved organic carbon and suspended sediment reaching the reservoir. After the success of the Swindale Beck project, it won the UK River Prize in 2022. The site is now an important example of natural flood management, showing how reversing old engineering work can restore river ecosystems while also protecting communities downstream.