The River Rase is 16 mile (25 km) long tributary of the
River Ancholme
The River Ancholme is a river in Lincolnshire, England, and a tributary of the Humber.
It rises at Ancholme Head, a spring just north of the village of Ingham and immediately west of the Roman Road, Ermine Street. It flows east and then north ...
that flows through
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, in the east of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Course
The source of the river is a series of
springs known as Churn Water Heads, that occur on Bully Hill north of
Tealby
Tealby is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds and north-east of Market Rasen. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 593.
Commun ...
in the
Lincolnshire Wolds
The Lincolnshire Wolds are a range of low hills in the county of Lincolnshire, England which run roughly parallel with the North Sea coast, from the Humber Estuary in the north-west to the edge of the Lincolnshire Fens in the south-east. They ar ...
. These springs occur where the permeable chalk geology of the Wolds meets the impermeable mudstone and clays that underlie most of the Rase catchment.
The river flows in a south-westerly direction through the village of Tealby, where it is crossed by the
Viking Way
The Viking Way is a long distance trail in England running between the Humber Bridge in North Lincolnshire and Oakham in Rutland.
History
The route was officially opened on Sunday 5 September 1976 at Tealby, by the Deputy Chairman of Lincoln ...
, a
long-distance footpath
A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-cou ...
that crosses the Wolds. To the west the Rase reaches the market town of
Market Rasen
Market Rasen ( ) is a town and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The River Rase runs through it east to west, approximately north-east from Lincoln, east from Gainsborough, 14 miles (23 km) west of Lo ...
, from which the river takes its name, and where it meets a tributary that flows through the local
racecourse
A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...
. The river continues through the villages of
Middle Rasen
Middle Rasen is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, located about west from the town of Market Rasen. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,043.
History
Rasen is mentioned in ...
and then
West Rasen, where it is spanned by a
packhorse bridge
A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low Parapet#Bridge ...
. At the hamlet of
Bishopbridge the river changes character, becoming an artificial drainage channel that runs in parallel with the Ancholme. As it flows further north the river also loses its identity becoming the East Drain, when it is joined by the Kingerby Beck. The waters of the Rase and the Ancholme eventually join together near Harlam Hill, to the south of
Snitterby Carr.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rase, River
Rivers of Lincolnshire
2Rase