 The river rises at Grisedale in south-eastern Cumbria, where a group of smaller streams draining Grisedale Pike converge as Grisedale Beck.The young Clough River then goes through a short valley (Grisedale, "The Dale That Died"), and over a waterfall before being named Clough at Clough Farm, Garsdale Head, where it enters Garsdale, a valley formed by the river between Baugh Fell (to the north) and Rise Hill (to the south).The Clough is mainly shallow and rocky, with occasional pools large enough for swimming, though the water is always cold.