40-896: The River Blythe flows through the English Midlands from central Warwickshire , through the Borough of Solihull and on to Coleshill in north Warwickshire. It runs along the Meriden Gap in the Midlands Plateau , is fed by the River Cole and is a tributary of the River Tame beside the West Midland Bird Club 's Ladywalk reserve . This then joins the River Trent , whose waters reach
80-518: A dialect closer to "northern" but now more influenced by "southern". In a binary choice, the Watford Gap is often considered the dividing point between the north and south of England, with most of the Midlands population sitting above this point. The "midland" name has been used for: Perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus Perca , which belongs to
120-475: A local wildlife park, Malvern and Brueton Park and Nature Reserve , where it briefly splits/outpours for approximately 250 metres to form Brueton Park Lake. From here it meanders east, past several old country houses—Old Berry Hall, Ravenshaw Hall and Eastcote Hall—before turning sharply south towards Barston , which is encircled within a large meander of the river. At Temple Balsall the Cuttle Brook feeds
160-758: A popular sport fish species. They are known to put up a fight, and to be good for eating. They can be caught with a variety of methods, including float fishing, lure fishing, and legering . Fly fishing for perch using patterns that imitate small fry or invertebrates can be successful. The record weight for this fish in Britain is 2.81 kg (6 lb 3 oz), the Netherlands 3.05 kg (6 lb 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 oz), and in America 2.83 kg (6 lb 4 oz). The biggest recorded catch in Sweden
200-574: A symbol of Mercia as early as the reign of Offa . By the 13th century, the saltire had become the attributed arms of the Kingdom of Mercia. The arms are blazoned Azure, a saltire Or , meaning a gold (or yellow) saltire on a blue field. The saltire is used as both a flag and a coat of arms. As a flag, it is flown from Tamworth Castle , the ancient seat of the Mercian kings . The flag also appears on street signs welcoming people to Tamworth ,
240-528: Is "a particularly fine example of a lowland river on clay" according to its Sites of Special Scientific Interest citation. The SSSI was notified in 1989, and includes a 24-mile (39 km) stretch of the river from near its source to the point it joins the River Tame. The Blythe has a wide range of natural geographical features such as riffles, pools, small cliffs and meanders, combined with a high diversity of substrate types ranging from fine silt and clay in
280-766: Is furthest away from the coast than anywhere else in England, it typically receives mostly light winds, with warm days and cold nights. Sometimes the Midlands can have very cold nights such as a minimum of −18.7 °C (−1.7 °F) in Pershore on 20 December 2010. The previous day had a maximum of only −8.2 °C (17.2 °F), also in Pershore. Hot days are also possible, such as a maximum of 34 °C (93 °F) in Pershore on 19 July 2006. There can also be very mild winters nights, such as in Bidford-on-Avon when
320-422: Is no single definition for the Midlands. If defined as being made up of the statistical regions of East Midlands and West Midlands , it includes the counties of Derbyshire , Herefordshire , Leicestershire , most of Lincolnshire (with the exception of North and North East Lincolnshire ), Northamptonshire , Nottinghamshire , Rutland , Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire , Worcestershire and
360-615: Is often labelled as "Central England", typically used interchangeably with "the Midlands". Additionally, there are two informal regions known as the South Midlands and North Midlands , which are not NUTS statistical regions of the United Kingdom and their definition varies by using organisation. The former includes the southern parts of the East Midlands and northern parts of Southern England . The latter covers
400-490: Is often referred to as a "red perch", though by definition perch are freshwater species. Though many fish are referred to as perch as a common name, to be considered a true perch, the fish must be of the family Percidae. Most authorities recognize three species within the perch genus: Perch have a long and round body shape which allows for fast swimming in the water. True perch have "rough" or ctenoid scales. Perch have paired pectoral and pelvic fins , and two dorsal fins ,
440-490: Is popular with anglers along much of its length, although in dry weather it can become shallow in places. Species to be found include perch , chub and dace with occasional summer carp being caught. The river also holds tench , bream and rudd and more recently a small number of barbel have been caught. Download coordinates as: Midlands (England) The Midlands is the central part of England , bordered by Wales , Northern England , Southern England and
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#1732772489640480-542: Is roughly covered by the metropolitan county of the West Midlands (which also includes the city of Coventry ); with the related City Region extending into neighbouring areas of Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire and Worcestershire . Various parts of the Midlands, particularly Warwickshire and Leicestershire, are on occasion referred to as the Heart of England, especially in tourist literature given that
520-552: The Long Mynd , Clee Hills and Stiperstones ridge. Wenlock Edge , running through the middle of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), is a long, low ridge, which extends for over 15 miles (24 km). The Peak District reaches heights of between 300 m (1,000 ft) and 600 m (2,000 ft); Kinder Scout is the highest point at 636 m (2,086 ft). Further south,
560-527: The North Sea via the Humber Estuary . The river rises at various sources near Earlswood Lakes , but the principal tributary is listed as Spring Brook ( 52°21′03″N 1°50′37″W / 52.350915°N 1.843601°W / 52.350915; -1.843601 ; grid reference SP107725 ). From here it winds north east, skirting Cheswick Green , towards Solihull . Here it passes through
600-687: The North Sea . The Midlands correspond broadly to the early-medieval kingdom of Mercia , and later became important in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. They are now split into two official regions, the West Midlands and East Midlands . The Midlands' biggest city, Birmingham , is the second-largest in the United Kingdom . Other important cities include Coventry , Derby , Leicester , Lincoln , Nottingham , Stoke-on-Trent , Wolverhampton , and Worcester . A saltire (diagonal cross) may have been used as
640-480: The family Percidae of the large order Perciformes . The name comes from Greek : πέρκη , romanized : perke , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch ( P. fluviatilis ). Many species of freshwater game fish more or less resemble perch, but belong to different genera. In fact, the exclusively saltwater-dwelling red drum (which belong to a different order Acanthuriformes )
680-401: The mesonephric duct . They have a two-chambered heart consisting of four compartments: the sinus venous , one atrium , one ventricle , and conus . Perch have a swim bladder that helps control buoyancy or floating within the water, the swim bladder is only found in bony fish. In perch, the duct connecting the swim bladder to the pharynx is closed so air is unable to pass through from
720-520: The southwest . The highest point of the hills is the Worcestershire Beacon at 425 m (1,394 ft) above sea level (OS Grid reference SO768452). The Cotswolds – designated an AONB in 1966. – extend for over 90 miles (140 km) through Oxfordshire , Gloucestershire , Wiltshire , Somerset , Warwickshire , and Worcestershire . They reach a highest point of 330 m (1,082 ft) at Cleeve Hill . Areas of lower hills, in
760-720: The "ancient capital of Mercia". It was also flown outside Birmingham Council House during 2009 while the Staffordshire Hoard was on display in the city before being taken to the British Museum in London. The cross has been incorporated into a number of coats of arms of Midlands towns, including Tamworth , Leek and Blaby . It was recognised as the Mercian flag by the Flag Institute in 2014. There
800-810: The Black Country conurbation at 271 m (889 ft) and the Wrekin just south of Wellington in Telford at 407 m (1,335 ft). Upland areas lie in the west and north of the region with the Shropshire Hills to the west, close to the England–Wales border and the Peak District area of the southern Pennines in the north of the region. The Shropshire Hills reach a height of 540 m (1,771 ft) at Brown Clee Hill and includes
840-697: The Midlands as the region is bordered by Wales to the west. It is also where the Midlands' lowest points can be found as some places fall below sea level, with the lowest points being near Thorpe Tilney in North Kesteven and Stickford in East Lindsey . The Midlands has a temperate maritime climate , with cold, cloudy, wet winters and comfortable, mostly dry, mostly sunny summers. The temperature usually ranges from −0.4 °C (31.3 °F) during winter nights to 24.1 °C (75.4 °F) during summer days. Due to its geographical location, which
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#1732772489640880-659: The Welsh border reaches over 700 m (2,000 ft) high, at Twyn Llech (Black Mountain), which at 703 m (2,306 ft) is thus the highest point in Herefordshire . The Precambrian Malverns are formed of some of the oldest rock in England (dating from the Cryogenian period, at around 680 million years old) and extend for 8 miles (13 km) through two West Midlands counties ( Worcestershire and Herefordshire ) as well as northern Gloucestershire in
920-598: The West Midlands metropolitan boroughs. Other definitions include a slightly larger area and the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica describes Gloucestershire as "West Midland", Bedfordshire as "South Midland", and Huntingdonshire as "East Midland" counties respectively. Cheshire is also occasionally recognised as being in the Midlands, while a lot of what was historically part of southern Mercia ( Gloucestershire , Oxfordshire , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Hertfordshire , Huntingdonshire , and Cambridgeshire )
960-551: The central parts of the United States in freshwater ponds, lakes, streams, or rivers. These fish can be found in freshwater all over the world, and are known to inhabit the Great Lake region, in particular Lake Erie . These fish inhabit bodies of water where vegetation and debris is readily accessible. In the spring when the perch chooses to spawn , they use vegetation to conceal their eggs from predators. Perch are
1000-538: The ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, actually come under the Yorkshire and the Humber region and are therefore not in the officially recognised East Midlands region. The two regions of the Midlands have a combined population of 10,350,697 (2014 mid-year estimate), and an area of 11,053 sq mi (28,630 km ). The largest Midlands conurbation , which includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton ,
1040-409: The first one spiny and the second soft. These two fins can be separate or joined. The head consists of the skull (formed from loosely connected bones), eyes , mouth , operculum , gills , and a pair of nostrils (which has no connection to the oral cavity). They have small brush-like teeth across their jaws and on the roof of their mouth. The gills are located under the operculum on both sides of
1080-623: The geographic centre of England is generally considered to lie within this arc. Different areas of the Midlands have their own distinctive character, giving rise to many local history and industrial heritage groups. Nottingham played a notable part in the English Civil War , which is commemorated in a number of place names (Parliament Terrace, Parliament Street, Standard Hill). Areas such as Derbyshire's Amber Valley and Erewash combine attractive countryside with industrial heritage and are home to historic canals and sites associated with
1120-405: The head and are used to extract oxygen molecules from water and expel carbon dioxide; the gills have gill rakers inside the mouth. External anatomy can be used to determine the sex of perch in multiple ways. Perch have two posterior openings located on their abdomen, the anal and urogenital . In males, the shape of the urogenital opening is round and larger than the anal opening. In females,
1160-477: The intestines have many pyloric caeca and a spiral value , the small intestine consists of a part called the duodenum . The spleen is located after the stomach and before the spiral value. The spleen is connected to the circulatory system , not part of the digestive tract . The liver is composed of three lobes: one small lobe (includes the gall bladder) and two large lobes. Perch have long and narrow kidneys that contain clusters of nephrons which empty into
1200-535: The latter on 10 January 1982 around Newport in Shropshire where it dropped to a minimum of −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F). Due to being neither Northern England or Southern England , the Midlands have had cultural elements from both sides in the North–South divide , such as dialect (see also West Midlands English and East Midlands English ). A study has shown that some Midlands areas have traditionally had
1240-476: The lower reaches to sands and gravels in the upper and middle reaches. The structure of this river is very variable and diverse, and is important as a rare example of such in lowland Britain. The diverse physical features of the Blythe are matched by its diverse plant communities. Botanically, the Blythe is one of the richest rivers in lowland England, with the most species-rich sections containing as many species as
River Blythe - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-427: The mining industry. The Black Country , broadly the boroughs of Dudley , Sandwell , Wolverhampton and Walsall , played an important part in the Industrial Revolution . The historic counties ceased to be used for any administrative purpose in 1899 but remain important to some people, notably for county cricket . The area is predominantly low-lying and flat apart from isolated hills such as Turners Hill within
1320-460: The mouth, these fish are called physoclists . Specifically in perch, the gas bladder can vary from 12% to 25% of oxygen and 1.4% to 2.9% of carbon dioxide gas. Perch reproductive organs include either a pair of testes (sperm-producing) or a pair of ovaries (egg-producing). Perch are classified as carnivores , choosing waters where smaller fish, shellfish , zooplankton, and insect larvae are abundant. The yellow perch can be found in
1360-541: The northern parts of the West and East Midlands, along with some southern parts of Northern England . The West Midlands and East Midlands regions are NUTS 1 statistical regions and were formerly constituencies of the European Parliament . Local government in the Midlands is as follows: The unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire (not shown), while classed as part of
1400-618: The range 200 m (600 ft) - 300 m (1000 ft), include Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire , Cannock Chase in Staffordshire , and the Lincolnshire Wolds (100 m (300 ft) - 200 m (600 ft)); the latter having some prominence despite their modest altitude given their location in typically low-lying Lincolnshire near to the east coast. Lincolnshire is the only coastal county in
1440-548: The river, which now arcs north, and again close by Barston. Past Hampton in Arden the river is fed by Shadow Brook , at Diddington Hall . Travelling further north it passes to the east of Coleshill , and is fed by the River Cole , only a few hundred yards before it itself feeds into the River Tame ( 52°31′20″N 1°41′18″W / 52.522317°N 1.688242°W / 52.522317; -1.688242 ; grid reference SP212916 ), at Ladywalk Nature Reserve. The river
1480-461: The temperature at 6 pm was as high as 15.2 °C (59.4 °F) on 9 January 2015. At 8 am the following morning the temperature was still at 13 °C (55 °F). Both the highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in England were in the Midlands, the former on 19 July 2022 around Coningsby in Lincolnshire where it reached a maximum temperature of 40.3 °C (104.5 °F), and
1520-418: The urogenital opening is often a V- or U-shape which is a similar size to the anal opening. Also, males usually have a more brown-red colored urogenital opening compared to females. The esophagus is a flexible tube that goes from the mouth to the stomach. The stomach is connected to the intestine via the pyloric sphincter . The intestines of perch consist of the small intestine and large intestine ;
1560-446: The very richest chalk streams. In addition, several damp, unimproved meadows occur along the length of the river; they receive some of their water from annual flooding and are largely dependent upon the river for the maintenance of a high water-table. As well as the rich and diverse flora, the river supports a diverse invertebrate community with a wide range of molluscs , oligochaetes and caddisflies . However, physical modification to
1600-536: The watercourse and the riparian zone has impacted the functionality of the River Blythe, resulting in the SSSI's condition labelled as "unfavourable no change" in 2017. The factors leading to this were mainly due to historic management; many sections of the river have been straightened, and the riparian zone modified and disrupted, upsetting the site's ecological health and lowering the overall SSSI status. The river
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