Little Known UK River Is 'One Of The Most Dangerous Places In The World'

When you think of the most dangerous places in the world, probably the least likely location to spring to mind would be a small, unassuming stretch of river in the UK.

You may never even have heard of The Strid at Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire, but it might be one of the deadliest places around.

Yes, it may not seem much when you consider some of the world's most famous rivers, like the Amazon and the Ganges - neither of which I'd be diving head-first into anytime soon - but YouTuber Tom Scott swears by it.

In a video posted to his channel, Scott reveals that while it looks like a fairly calm stream, that is where the true danger lies.

He says: "There are certainly rivers that have taken more lives, and there are rapids and waterfalls that few boats could sail, but generally you can see them coming.

"This is just an innocent-looking stream in the middle of some woods, you could jump over it, people occasionally do, but if you miss that jump, it'll kill you."

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Tom says that while, for the most part, the river looks like any other, as it narrows it 'turns on its side, gouging out tunnels and passages in the rocks below'. So while it might not look like much, it's extremely deep.

He explains: "Those banks are actually overhangs - there isn't any riverbed just below the surface, it's a deep, boiling mass of fast and deadly currents.

"There are claims that falling in has a 100 percent fatality rate; there's no way to confirm that, of course, because 'local person doesn't die in river' doesn't make the news, it has claimed a lot of lives.

"There are even tales from the 12th century of a young boy, set to be the future king of Scotland, who died trying to jump across those waters.

"And anyone or anything that falls in might not come out in any recognisable form, it could just get pulverised against the rocks and the water, over and over and over again.

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"I'd try and put a camera in, but then I'd have to get close to the edge, and the edge isn't sharp, it just curves towards the water and it's covered in slippery moss."

He adds: "Is it survivable? Yeah, with a lot of equipment and a lot of luck.

"And you've find occasional testimony from foolhardy people who've swum on the calmer pools at the bottom on drier days, but that's also where a young child drowned back in 2010.

"That's why it's so dangerous, it looks safe, it looks tempting, and it will kill you."

You've been warned.

Topics: World News, UK News, YouTube, Nature

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

@SmithersDom