The River Colne ( or ) is a small river that runs through

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and passes through

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

. It is not a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...

of any other river, instead having an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

that joins the sea near

Brightlingsea Brightlingsea (, traditionally , , ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the Tendring District, Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, Essex, River Colne, on ...

. The river's name is of Celtic origin, combining the word for rock "cal" with a remnant of the word " afon", or river, giving the meaning "stony river". However, another authority states that the river's name was originally ''Colonia Fluvius,'' the "waterway of the Colonia": a reference to Colchester's status in Roman times. There are two other rivers in the UK that share the same name.

Sources

Two of the Colne's tributaries start near the villages of Stambourne Green and Birdbrook in Essex, before converging in Great Yeldham. A longer tributary, however, starts to the north-west of Cornish Hall End, flowing into the other sources just south of Great Yeldham. The river then flows south-east through Sible Hedingham,

Halstead Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011Earls Colne, Colne Engaine, White Colne, Chappel and Ford Street before reaching Colchester. Between Great Yeldham and Wakes Colne, the river follows the route of the former Colne Valley and Halstead Railway which ran from Haverhill before closing to passenger traffic in 1961. A mile of the route around Castle Hedingham is preserved as the Colne Valley Railway.

In Colchester

The Colne Valley has a

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

approximately 300 metres in width by the time it enters Colchester. This area is used as

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

because the river at this stage has no safeguards against it rising the two feet it needs to burst its banks, although it is split between two pasture areas in Spring Lane, Old Lexden. Somewhat to the south of Colchester North railway station, the river passes under a bridge and into a concrete-lined area that was used as an open-air bathing facility until the 1970s, and is now used by

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

ists. It then meanders under a road bridge at the bottom of North Hill, and tumbles down 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 water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

used for discharge control at Middlemill, the site of a now-demolished mill. It forms the border of Colchester's Castle Park and the cricket ground, and footbridges cross it to provide access from the town centre to residential areas on the north side of the flood plain, which occasionally floods should the river rise too much. The river encircles one side of a small lake, and then turns south-east, and then south, before falling over a large weir and becoming tidal.

After Colchester

Beyond this point, the river shows significant mud banks at low tide, and flows through the Hythe, past the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

campus, and then through the village of Rowhedge, where it is attributed to by the

Roman River The Roman River is a river that flows entirely through the England, English county of Essex. It is a tributary of the River Colne, Essex, River Colne, flowing into its tidal estuary below Colchester. The lower end of the Roman River is also tida ...

. It continues past the town of

Wivenhoe Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Colchester, Colchester district, in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the Riv ...

and the Colne Barrier and down to

. Downstream from the barrier, the Colne is marked by navigation buoys.

Situation

The banks of the Colne frequently incorporate pillboxes dating from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, particularly close to navigable crossings. From Castle Park to Wivenhoe Railway Station,

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

Route 51 roughly follows the course of the Colne. This is a mixture of tarmac-surfaced shared-use paths, a short tarmac/gravel-surfaced area and, once out of the urban area of Colchester, a hard dirt path on the north

levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...

of the river that passes the Hythe and the university all the way to Wivenhoe. Colne Dredger

The Hythe area of Colchester, through which the Colne flows, was, from Roman times, a small port that supplied the town. However, the river is no longer deep enough to support ships large enough to make this viable, and water trade is now non-existent. Victorian-era plans to dredge the river once more ultimately failed. The River Colne has been polluted by sewage works after changes in regulations, along with many other waterways in the United Kingdom. This has caused moderate uproar in the surrounding communities, who like to swim in the river, and they are also concerned about the impact on wildlife.

References

External links

Flood warning
from the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

Flood warning
from the

River Colne Countryside Project

Colne estuary partnership
{{authority control

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...

Estuaries of England Ramsar sites in England