The River Uck is a river in
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
, United Kingdom, which drains a catchment starting near
Crowborough
Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...
in the North,
Hadlow Down
Hadlow Down is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is located on the A272 road three miles (4.8 km) north-east of Heathfield, East Sussex, Heathfield. The parish is within the ...
to the East and
Laughton, East Sussex
Laughton is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The village is located five miles (8 km) east of Lewes, at a junction on the minor road to Hailsham (B2124). It appears in the Domesda ...
to the South. It flows through the town of
Uckfield
Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald.
Etymology
'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...
and into the
River Ouse about north of
Lewes
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
. The River Uck has a scenic walk alongside it. The river burst its banks in 2000, flooding much of Uckfield and the surrounding countryside.
The signs indicating the name of the river have been subject to frequent vandalism, resulting in the council fitting specially shaped signs which reduce the ability of vandals to add the
letter 'f' to the word 'Uck'.
In the
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels.
Pratchett's first nov ...
and
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
novel ''
Good Omens
''Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch'' is a 1990 novel written as a collaboration between the English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
The book is a comedy about the birth of the son of Satan and the c ...
'' the Uck provides a small but important scene in the narrative.
References
Rivers of East Sussex
{{England-river-stub
Prendergast, H.D.V. (2019). ''Ouse and Uck. Sketch of a Sussex Catchment''. Essedon Press, Wych Cross, East Sussex.