The River Spen or Spen Beck, in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England is a tributary of the River Calder. It rises north of

Cleckheaton Cleckheaton is a town in the Metropolitan borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It is ...

, runs through Liversedge and flows into the Calder to the south of

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudd ...

at Ravensthorpe. The average rainfall for the river valley of between 600–1000mm per annum when combined with the steep narrow river channel, makes the Spen susceptible to regular flooding. It is referred to in the name of the local parliamentary constituency,

Batley and Spen Batley and Spen is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The current MP is Kim Leadbeater, a Labour politician, elected in a 2021 by-election by a 323-vote margin. The seat has returned Labour MPs since 1997. Constit ...

, to account for the villages and suburbs of Batley in the Spen Valley, such as Liversedge and

Gomersal Gomersal is a town in Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is south of Bradford, east of Cleckheaton and north of Heckmondwike. It is close to the River Spen and forms part of the Heavy Woollen District. History Gomersal was attested i ...

Course

The River Spen is formed at the confluence of Hunsworth Beck and Nann Hall Beck in

. The river flows south past industrial premises parallel to a dismantled railway line before turning south east on the outskirts of Liversedge. It continues south east through the industrial centre of the town before returning southwards along the edge of

Heckmondwike Heckmondwike is a town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is mostly in the Batley and Spen pa ...

. On the outskirts of Ravensthorpe, the river turns south east again before joining the River Calder.

Natural history

The Spen is mainly an urban waterway and has been polluted by sewage effluent and industrial waste, though levels of pollutants and mine water discharges have decreased since 1999. Heavy rain can cause pollutant levels to rise and the river suffers from tipping and urban litter. Several non-native species of plant are found along the river including

giant hogweed ''Heracleum mantegazzianum'', commonly known as giant hogweed, is a monocarpic perennial herbaceous plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. ''H. mantegazzianum'' is also known as cartwheel-flower, giant cow parsley, giant cow parsnip, or hogsb ...

Himalayan balsam ''Impatiens glandulifera'', Himalayan balsam, is a large annual plant native to the Himalayas. Via human introduction it is now present across much of the Northern Hemisphere and is considered an invasive species in many areas. Uprooting or cutt ...

and Japanese knotweed.

Bistort Bistort is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *'' Bistorta'', a genus recognized by some sources including the species: **'' Bistorta bistortoides'', native to North America **'' Bistorta officinalis'' (''Persicaria bistorta''), ...

, wild

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

, nettles and

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...

s are found in abundance in the meadows between the conurbations.

Leisure

The disused railway line adjacent to the riverbank is part of the

Spen Valley Greenway The Spen Valley Line (also known as the Mirfield and Low Moor railway) was a railway that connected with through the Spen Valley in West Yorkshire, England. Opened up by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1847, with full opening to Lo ...

( National Cycle Route 66) from

to Oakenshaw near

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

. The greenway is home to a collection of artworks, including ''A Flock of Swaledale Sheep'', constructed from recycled industrial scrap by Sally Matthews, and ''Rotate'' by Trudi Entwistle which comprises 40 giant steel hoops set in a circle.

Lists

Tributaries

* Finching Dike * Canker Dyke

Settlements

* Liversedge *

* Ravensthorpe

Crossings

* A643, Cleckheaton * Thornton Street, Cleckheaton * A638, Rawfolds Bridge, Cleckheaton * Cartwright Street, Cleckheaton * Primrose Lane, Cleckheaton * Radulf Gardens, Liversedge * Knowler Hill, Liversedge * Valley Road, Liversedge * A62, Liversedge * A649, Wakefiled Road, Liversedge * Wormald Street, Liversedge * Union Street, Liversedge * Beck Lane, Liversedge * Smithies Bridge, Station Lane, Liversedge * A644, Huddersfield Road, Ravensthorpe

Sources

Ordnance Survey Open Data https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-government/tools-support/open-data-support

References

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