River Gaunless
The River Gaunless is a river of County Durham in England. Its name was given by the Vikings, who found no major uses for it and thus Gaunless, meaning 'useless', became fixed.
Formed just south of the village of Copley, by the confluence of Arn Gill and Hindon Beck, the Gaunless wends its way east, passing the settlements of Butterknowle, Cockfield and Evenwood and through West Auckland before skirting the south and east of Bishop Auckland on its way to meet the River Wear.
The Gaunless Viaduct, built in 1825, was the tallest viaduct on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway.
An extension of the weather station has been placed at the head of the river at to study its unique climate of frost and snow. It lies in a frost hollow and receives no sunshine between October and March because of its geography.Settlements
