| River Bride | |
| Name Etymology: | Celtic |
| Pushpin Map: | United Kingdom Dorset |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within Dorset |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | England |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Dorset |
| Subdivision Type4: | District |
| Subdivision Name4: | Dorset |
| Subdivision Type5: | Towns and villages |
| Subdivision Name5: | Littlebredy, Burton Bradstock |
| Length: | 10.5km (06.5miles) |
| Discharge1 Location: | Burton Bradstock |
| Source1 Location: | Littlebredy, Dorset, England |
| Source1 Elevation: | 300feet |
| Mouth Location: | Burton Bradstock, Dorset, England |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 50.7026°N -2.7405°W |
The River Bride is a river in Dorset, England, situated between the towns of Dorchester and Bridport. It runs through the Bride Valley, a distinct landscape area in the Dorset National Landscape.
The River Bride is approximately 6.5miles long and has a catchment area of 15sqmi.[1] It rises on the eastern side of Black Down[2] at an altitude of 90m (300feet)[3] beneath an artificial lake at Bridehead House, Littlebredy on the escarpment of the Dorset Downs. It flows west to its mouth west of Burton Bradstock, reaching the coast through a break in coastal cliffs at Burton Freshwater. It empties into the English Channel over the western end of Chesil Beach where it "forms itself into a pool and fights to get to the sea intact before sinking into the shingle."[4] It has nine tributaries and descends more than 60m (200feet) in its first three miles.[1]
The Bride Valley is a protected area as part of the Dorset National Landscape (an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The National Landscape Partnership describe it as a broad clay valley having a sweeping profile enclosed by the chalk escarpment to the north and east, and smaller limestone escarpment to the south, with a "strong undeveloped rural character".[2] Land use is primarily a patchwork of dairy pasture and wet woodland in the valley floor, and arable, scrub and calcareous grassland on the valley sides.[2]
The river's name is of Celtic origin. It is derived from Old Welsh Brydi, related to Cornish bredion "to boil", so means "boiling or gushing" stream. The river gives its name to Long Bredy, Littlebredy, Burton Bradstock and probably Bridport.