March 9, 2025, 9:23 am | Read time: 3 minutes
The Bolton Strid in England is sometimes referred to as the “most dangerous stretch of river in the world” or “murderer’s brook.” This is because anyone who falls in is said to die. In fact, there have been repeated fatal accidents here in the past. TRAVELBOOK explains the natural phenomenon.
Standing on the banks of the Bolton Strid in Yorkshire, England, one might never guess at first glance that they’re facing a perilously dangerous body of water. That is if there weren’t warning signs everywhere along the two-meter-wide section of the River Wharfe. This is because the Bolton Strid can swiftly transform into a lethal hazard.
Officially, the number of lives claimed by this treacherous section of the river near the quaint village of Bolton Abbey remains unknown. However, various newspapers, such as the New York Times, repeatedly refer to residents of Bolton Strid. And some of them say: “Anyone who falls in here dies.” The Strid, as it is simply known, harbors extremely deceptive and treacherous waters. As picturesque as it may look, it is just as dangerous.
Deadly Rapids
The reason lies in the River Wharfe’s structure, which undergoes a radical transformation at the Bolton Strid. While it usually babbles along rather lazily and with a width of up to ten meters, here it suddenly narrows to just two meters, which massively accelerates the flow of the water. This creates deadly rapids. The enormous pressure exerted by the masses of water has also washed out the riverbed to a depth of up to nine meters. An information board on site reads: “The river is as deep as two double-decker buses are high on top of each other.”
In addition, there are cave-like washouts under the water, into which someone falling into the Bolton Strid would be sucked in the worst-case scenario. There are also rock formations under the water all along the deadly section of the river, against which the unfortunate could be thrown. Consequently, rescue rings are hung throughout this area, with signs cautioning: “The Strid is perilous and has claimed lives in the past. Keep your distance and beware of slippery stones.”
The Water Can Rise Rapidly
Falling into this section of the river is not just potentially fatal — it’s almost certain. Moreover, the waters of the Bolton Strid are infamous for their ability to rise with a terrifying swiftness during heavy rainfall. In less than a minute, the level of the Strid can rise by one and a half meters.
A few tragic examples from the past show that anyone falling into the Bolton Strid would have little chance of survival. In 1998, a couple disappeared while camping near the river section. Their bodies were only found days later, miles away, in the water. Back in 1934, a landscape painter who was famous in the area fell into the river and was killed.
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Immortalized in Literature
The Bolton Strid is so notorious that it has even made it into English literature. The English poet William Wordsworth described it in a poem as early as 1800, and the American writer Gertrude Atherton immortalized it in a short story in 1896. It says: “There was no lonelier place in England or one that could boast of having created so many ghosts…”
It is, therefore, all the more surprising that Bolton Abbey explicitly promotes the beauty of the Bolton Strid on its website. There is a footpath along the section of the river that leads through ancient oak woods and past an abbey. And it runs alongside what is perhaps the deadliest stretch of river in the world. At least, that is how it is referred to in various media today, or alternatively as the “Murderer’s Stream.” Yet, as the numerous warning signs advise, there’s no need to venture too close.