| Eastern Yar River Yar | |
|---|---|
 The Eastern Yar at Brading marshes | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | England |
| Region | Southeast England |
| County | Isle of Wight |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Niton, Isle of Wight |
| Mouth | The Solent |
• location | Bembridge Harbour, Isle of Wight |
| Length | 20 km (12 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Scotchells Brook |
The River Yar on the Isle of Wight, England, rises in a chalk coomb in St. Catherine's Down near Niton,[1] close to the southern tip of the island. It flows across the Lower Cretaceous rocks of the eastern side of the island, through the gap in the central Upper Cretaceous chalk ridge of the Island at Yarbridge, then across the now drained Brading Haven to Bembridge Harbour in the northeast. It is the longest river on the Isle of Wight.[2]
For most of its course, the river passes through rural areas. At Alverstone, a small weir uses water from the river to power a water mill.
The Yar is one of two rivers on the Isle of Wight with the same name. It is referred to as the Eastern Yar if it is necessary to distinguish between them with the other river being known as the Western Yar.
Name
[edit]The name may come from the "lost name" Yarneford, meaning 'the ford of the eagles', from Old English earn and ford. It could also mean 'the gravelly or muddy ford'. The ford was probably near the mouth of the river, near St Helens. The name is a back-formation.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "River Yar Trail - Source to Sea". WightCam. Archived from the original on 23 April 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
- ^ "Eastern Yar". islandrivers.org.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
- ^ Mills, A.D (1996). The Place-Names of the Isle of Wight. Shaun Tyas.
Ordnance Survey One Inch Seventh Series sheet 180
External links
[edit]
50°41′32″N 1°06′39″W / 50.69222°N 1.11083°W
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