The River Bleng is a tributary of the River Irt

River Irt

The River Irt is a river in the county of Cumbria in northern England. It flows from the south-western end of Wast Water, the deepest lake in England, leaving the lake at the foot of Whin Rigg, the southern peak of the famous Wastwater Screes....

 in the county of Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

 in northern England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

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The river gives its name to the valley that it flows through which is called Blengdale. It is thought that the name Bleng is derived from the Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 word blaeingr, which translates as dark water, so Blengdale would mean the valley of the dark river.

The river rises at Stockdale Head in the Lake District

Lake District

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

, it then flows south and then east towards its confluence with the river Irt. The Bleng only passes through one village - Wellington, near Gosforth, Cumbria

Gosforth, Cumbria

Gosforth is a village and civil parish in the Lake District, in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England. It is situated on the A595 road between Whitehaven and Barrow-in-Furness. It has a population of 1,230....

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Tributaries

• Ongue Gill
• Ill Gill
• Swinsty Beck
• Star Beck
• Skalderskew Beck
• Scale Beck
• Hale Beck