The Eye Brook is a watercourse in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, L ...

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 ...

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 drai ...

of the

River Welland The River Welland is a lowland river in the east of England, some long. It drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally northeast to Mark ...

. It is around long.

Course

The Eye Brook rises between Tilton on the Hill and

Skeffington Skeffington is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It lies 11 miles/18 km east of Leicester on the A47 Uppingham road, between Billesdon and Tugby and Keythorpe. The population at the 2011 cens ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire ...

and flows east through a narrow valley towards

East Norton East Norton is a small village and parish located in the east of Leicestershire, adjoining the A47 Leicester to Uppingham road. According to the 2001 Census, it had a population of 94 in 37 households. The population remained less than 100 at t ...

. Near where it crosses the A47, it starts to form the county boundary between Leicestershire and

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

, with Belton-in-Rutland to the north, and

Allexton Allexton is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 58. At the 2011 census the population of the village remained less than 100. Details are ...

to the south. It then proceeds south-eastwards, passing the village of

Stockerston Stockerston is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, located on the border with Rutland, by the Eye Brook. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 35. The population remained l ...

. Between

Stoke Dry Stoke Dry is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, about three miles (5 km) southwest of Uppingham. The village's name means 'outlying farm/settlement'. The village is positioned on a hill ...

and Caldecott it has been dammed to form the

Eyebrook Reservoir Eyebrook Reservoir (or Eye Brook Reservoir) is a reservoir and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which straddles the border between Leicestershire and Rutland in central England. The closest towns are Corby and Uppingham. The reservo ...

. Shortly after the reservoir outfall, it joins the River Welland (here forming the border with

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

Wildlife

Much of the land surrounding the area is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and a report by

English Nature English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Environmen ...

considered the river to be one of the most "natural" in the county having experienced very little human intervention. The river holds a variety of fish species, including roach, dace and chub. Wild brown trout spawn in the lower reaches.

Research

The Eye Brook Community Heritage Project, funded by the

Heritage Lottery The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, documents the evolution of land use within the Brook's catchment, the management and use of natural resources associated with it, and the underlying ecology.The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust
/ref> The Eye Brook catchment is also the location of The Allerton Project, a research and demonstration farm run by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust investigating the effects of different farming methods on wildlife and the environment.

Status

A liquid lunch in the Eye Brook - geograph

In 2016, the overall classification of the Eye Brook was "Poor" under the Water Framework Directive, having shown a significant decline in ecological condition since 2013. Reasons for this include the effect of poor livestock management and treated sewage effluent on plant life and the presence of the invasive Signal crayfish.

References

External links

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