English: Bend in the River Swale This shallow rapid and sharp left bend precede the final straight section of the River Swale down to Richmond. The level shown is low for October, when winter rains have usually raised the river, but since government grants paid for moorland gripping, the Swale has been very fast to rise and fall leaving it low for much of the time, with the occasional flood causing boulder rapids to move and banks to erode. New grants are now paying for grips to be blocked, so there is hope that the Swale will one day return to a similar condition to that which preceded the gripping.