The Myth of Three Rivers

There is a river that rises in the verdant countryside of the southwest, that twists and turns with each and every contour of the land, fingers exploring the valley’s moist folds, restlessly persisting in its journey, seeking the ocean’s loving embrace.

The Tamar at Cotehele Quay, copyright Emma Hunter

This is the Tamar, whose ancient flow divides two very different worlds: the Celtic and the Saxon.

The river forms the natural border between Devon, prosperous, pretty, safe, and Cornwall, land of mist and mystery, memorably described as a Celtic finger pointing towards the sea.

All rivers are lovely, yet the Tamar is fairer than most. On a prosaic level, this has led to its valley being made an AONB, just one step down from a national park. But in the world of myth and folklore, fantasy and imagination, the river’s beauty is explained in more magical ways. Here is the legend of Tamara, Tawrage and Tavy.

A water nymph, as pretty as you please, Tamara won the heart of two brothers, giants she was forbidden from consorting with. Natives of the moor, they went by the names Tawrage and Tavy, and they set about wooing her. Enjoying the chase, she teased the love-struck giants by appearing in their midst, then disappearing again in an ongoing game of hide and seek. But one day, she fell asleep and was cornered by her suitors. She awoke to hear them declare their undying affections.

Tamara enjoyed the attention. Accustomed as she’d been to living underground in a dark cave, the coquette learnt at first hand how exquisite a first romance can be. The giants promised her anything within their power, if only the beautiful nymph would consent to be theirs. They meant her no harm and Tamara was smitten.

Yet an angry father stood in the way of her happiness. A Cornish gnome, he detested all things that dwelt above ground, so when he learnt of the courting, he was furious. Casting a spell on the brothers, he sent them into a deep, enchanted sleep. He then told Tamara to return with him to their home, never to venture into the sunlight again.

Being young and headstrong, his daughter refused his commands. She wanted to remain in the beautiful countryside, and with her suitors, whose reawakening she demanded. Angered by her defiance, the gnome cast another spell, turning his daughter into a river that would flow for always through the land.

And so the River Tamar was born.

After a while, the gnome’s sleeping spells wore off. Tavy woke first and, distraught by the nymph’s disappearance, he broke down in tears. Becoming himself a river, he searches still for his one lost love, unaware that each time he flows into her at Bere Ferrers, he consummates their friendship.

For his brother Tawrage, the outcome was even more tragic. He begged a passing enchanter to turn him likewise but, having lost sight of Tamara, he set a course north, in the opposite direction, Thus the River Taw sails away from his would-be lover and enters the sea on a distant shore near Barnstaple.