The River Gaunless is a river of County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

 in 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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Formed just south of the village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 of Copley

Copley, County Durham

Copley is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated 9 miles to the west of Bishop Auckland, and 6 miles from the historic market town of Barnard Castle. It is an attractive rural setting close to the North Pennines AONB....

, by the confluence of Arn Gill (to the south, coming west from south of Langleydale Common) and Hindon Beck (to the north and coming east from Langleydale Common), the Gaunless wends its way east, passing the settlements of Butterknowle

Butterknowle

Butterknowle is a village in Teesdale, County Durham, England, situated between the market towns of Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle . It has an attractive rural setting within the Gaunless Valley , overlooked by the gorse-covered Cockfield Fell...

, Cockfield

Cockfield, County Durham

Cockfield is a village on the edge of Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is situated 8 miles to the south-west of Bishop Auckland, 15 miles north-west of Darlington and 40 miles south-east of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Remains found on Cockfield Fell suggest there was a settlement in the area during...

 and Evenwood

Evenwood

Evenwood is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the south west of Bishop Auckland. It is in the civil parish of Evenwood and Barony, which has a population of 2,534....

 and through West Auckland

West Auckland

West Auckland is a village in County Durham, in North East England. It is situated to the west of Bishop Auckland, on the A688 road.It is not known exactly when West Auckland was first inhabited, but there is evidence of Auckland West in the history of St. Cuthbert in the 11th century...

 before skirting the south and east of Bishop Auckland

Bishop Auckland

Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...

 on its way to meet the River Wear

River Wear

The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...

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The Gaunless Viaduct, built in 1825, was the tallest viaduct

Viaduct

A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...

 on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway.

Tributaries

• Arn Gill
• Hindon Beck
  • Cowclose Beck
    • Foul Sike
• Grewburn Beck
  • Howle Beck
• Gordon Beck
• Norton Fine Beck
• Oakley Cross Beck
• Hummer Beck
• Dene Beck
• Coundon Burn