River Ouzel & pollarded trees - geograph

The River Ouzel , also known as the River Lovat, is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in England, and a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...

. It rises in the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...

and flows north to join the Ouse at

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is separated from the rest of the urban ...

. It is usually called the ''River Ouzel'', except near Newport Pagnell where both names are used. The name ''Lovat'' was recorded (in the form 'Lovente') in the thirteenth century, a map of 1724 marks the river as "Lowsel R", and a map surveyed in 1765 shows it as 'Ouzel River'. The modern

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

uses only the name ''Ouzel'', except north of

Willen Lake Willen Lake is a visitor attraction and public park in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire The site is owned by The Parks Trust, an independent, self-funded charity that cares for and maintains over 6,000 acres of green space across MK. Willen La ...

where it is marked as 'River Ouzel or Lovat'.

Course

From springs just north of

Dagnall Dagnall is a village in the parish of Edlesborough, in Buckinghamshire, England. The place name is derived from the Old English for "Daegga's Knoll". In manorial rolls of 1196 it was listed as ''Dagenhale''. The spelling ''Dagenhale'' appears i ...

, the river initially forms the boundary between

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. It is joined by the Ouzel Brook from

Houghton Regis Houghton Regis is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, East of England. The parish is located in Central Bedfordshire, which includes the hamlets of Bidwell, Bedfordshire, Bidwell, Thorn, Bedfordshire, Th ...

, and by Whistle Brook (also known at

Ivinghoe Ivinghoe is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England, close to the border with Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. It is northwest of London, north of Tring and south of Leighton Buzzard, close to the village of Pitstone. Ety ...

as ''Whizzle Brook'')F. G. Gurney, ''Yttingaford and the tenth-century bounds of Chalgrave and Linslade'', Bedfordshire Historical Record Society 5, 1920, p. 175, note 25. from

Pitstone Pitstone (formerly Pightelsthorn, with possible variation Pychelesthorn in 1399) is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England. It is at the foot of the central range of the Chiltern Hills, centred east of Aylesbury and south ...

. Near Grove Lock, just south of

Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is northwes ...

, it was once joined by Ledburn Brook, which has since been diverted into the

Grand Junction Canal The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-p ...

(now the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter st ...

). At Leighton Buzzard, the river is joined by Clipstone Brook from

Milton Bryan Milton Bryan is a village and civil parish located in Central Bedfordshire (the spelling Milton Bryant was previously common and is still recognised by postal services). It lies just off the A4012 road, near to its junction with the A5 at Hockl ...

via

Hockliffe Hockliffe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire on the crossroads of the A5 road which lies upon the course of the Roman road known as Watling Street and the A4012 and B5704 roads. It is about four miles east of Leighton Buzzard. Near ...

and

Clipstone Clipstone in north Nottinghamshire is a small ex-coal mining village built on the site of an old army base and close to the site of a medieval royal palace. The population of the civil parish was 3,469 at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,665 a ...

, and to the north of the town the excess water from the canal is released into the river at the Twelve Arches. The river then flows through

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

, where the flood risk it presents (both locally and to communities downstream on the Ouse) is managed by two large

balancing lake A balancing lake (also flood basin or Sustainable urban drainage scheme) is a term used in the U.K. describing an element of an urban drainage system used to control flooding by temporarily storing flood waters. The term balancing pond is also ...

Caldecotte Lake Walton (historically) was a hamlet that is now a district and civil parish in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. For local government purposes, it is part of the Danesborough and Walton electoral ward. The historic hamlet is located ...

and Willen Lake. After flowing east under the M1, the river is joined by Crawley Brook from

Husborne Crawley Husborne Crawley is a small village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, located close to Junction 13 of the M1 motorway. The village touches the borders of the Woburn Abbey estate on one side, and the village of Aspley Guise on the other. ...

. Finally, the river flows through Newport Pagnell to its junction with the Great Ouse.

References

{{Coord, 51, 52, 56, N, 0, 38, 08, W, display=title, region:GB_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Milton Keynes Ouzel Ouzel Ouzel