The Bow Brook is a substantial
brook
A brook is a small river or natural stream of fresh water. It may also refer to:
Computing
*Brook, a programming language for GPU programming based on C
*Brook+, an explicit data-parallel C compiler
*BrookGPU, a framework for GPGPU programming ...
that flows for through
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
, England. It is a lower tributary of the
River Avon which it joins near
Defford
Defford is a small village in the county of Worcestershire, England, located between the towns of Pershore and Upton-upon-Severn. It was once part of the Royal forest of Horewell. The woodlands were mostly removed around the time of the Civil Wa ...
downstream of
Eckington Bridge
Eckington Bridge is a stone bridge over the River Avon in Eckington in the English county of Worcestershire. It is a Grade II* listed building and has been scheduled as an ancient monument.
The first bridge at the site was built in 1440, repla ...
. Its principal tributaries include the Stoulton, Dean, and Seeley brooks.
Course
It rises near
Upper Bentley to the west of
Redditch
Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...
, and flows due south through
Feckenham
Feckenham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Redditch in Worcestershire, England. It lies some south-west of the town of Redditch and some east of the city of Worcester. It had a population of 670 in the 2001 census and its immedi ...
beyond which it turns west to reach Shell, where it is known as the Shell Brook, and onwards to
Himbleton
Himbleton is a village in Worcestershire, England. It lies about south-east of Droitwich and north-east of Worcester. There is an Anglican church, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene.
Located on Neight Hill in the village is a first school, Himb ...
. It continues in a southerly direction flowing past
Huddington
Huddington is a village in Worcestershire, England.
Location
Huddington is located east of Worcester and south east of Droitwich Spa.
History & Amenities
Huddington is associated with Huddington Court and the Worcestershire element in th ...
and
Upton Snodsbury
Upton Snodsbury is a village in Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom, located five miles east of Worcester just off the A422 road. It is surrounded by low hills and farmland.
History
The church is dedicated to Saint Kenelm and includes sta ...
where it is crossed by the
A422
The A422 is an "A" road for east–west journeys in south central England, connecting the county towns of Bedford and Worcester by way of Milton Keynes, Buckingham, Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon. For most of its length, it is a narrow sin ...
, near
Broughton Hackett
Broughton Hackett is a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of the county of Worcestershire, England. It is about 5 miles east of the city of Worcester, on the A422 (Worcester–Stratford road) and according to the 2001 census had a ...
, and then past
Peopleton
Peopleton is a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England. In 2001 the parish had a population of 640, with 245 households.
Location
Peopleton is located about south east of Worcester and north of Pershore. Th ...
beyond which it is crossed by the
A44 A44 may refer to :
* A44 road (Great Britain), a road connecting Oxford, England and Aberystwyth, Wales
* A44 motorway (Germany), a road connecting Aachen at the German-Belgian border and Kassel
* A44 motorway (Netherlands), a motorway in the Nethe ...
. The brook is forded by a minor road between Walcot and
Pinvin
Pinvin is a village in Worcestershire, England, a little to the north of Pershore, about south-east of Worcester, and about north-west of Evesham and lies on the crossroads of the A44, A4104 and B4082. It is also the location of Pershore railway ...
, here it turns south-west, past Ufnell Bridge on the B4084 until it reaches
Besford Bridge where it is measured. It is bridged by the A4104 before it passes Defford the last village on its course, downstream of which it joins the Warwickshire Avon.
[
]
Hydrology
The flow of the Bow Brook has been measured using a weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
, in the lower reaches at Besford Bridge since 1969. This long-term record shows that the catchment
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...
of to the gauging station
A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation ("stage") and/or volu ...
yielded an average flow of .Tardebigge
Tardebigge () is a village in Worcestershire, England.
The village is most famous for the Tardebigge Locks, a flight of 30 canal locks that raise the Worcester and Birmingham Canal over over the Lickey Ridge. It lies in the county of Worcester ...
. Land use is mainly agricultural, consisting of arable, horticulture and grassland, with some woodland.
See also
*List of rivers of England
This is a list of rivers of England, organised geographically and taken anti-clockwise around the English coast where the various rivers discharge into the surrounding seas, from the Solway Firth on the Scottish border to the Welsh Dee on the Wel ...
References
External links
Bow Brook water levels at Besford BridgeBow Brook water levels at Feckenham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bow
Rivers of Worcestershire
1Bow