The River Leven (pron. ) is a short river in the ceremonial county of
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
, falling within the
historic boundaries of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
. It drains
Windermere
Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...
from its southernmost point and flows for approximately into the northern reaches of
Morecambe Bay. The river and its estuary are the boundary between the
Cartmel Peninsula and
Furness Peninsula and is part of North Lonsdale, also known as Lancashire North of the Sands.
The upriver limit of tidal flow is close to the village of
Haverthwaite. Also at this point is to be found Low Wood Bridge which, until the coming of the railways, was the first bridging point across the river. The Leven is navigable upstream as far as
Low Wood, and downstream from
Windermere
Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...
to
Newby Bridge.
Apart from Newby Bridge and Haverthwaite, the only other settlements on the Leven are the villages of
Backbarrow and
Greenodd. The river's steep fall around Backbarrow allowed industrial use of the river for the ultramarine mill and also a small hydroelectric generator at Backbarrow ironworks.
The River Leven has one significant tributary,
Rusland Pool, which drains a substantial part of
Grizedale Forest and the
Rusland Valley into the upper tidal section of the river. The smaller
River Crake flows into the Leven at Greenodd. The Leven is a noted
salmon
Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
river. At
spawning time the fish can be seen jumping up the waterfalls at Backbarrow. The river is popular with kayakers due to the continuous grade III+ rapids found between Newby Bridge and Haverthwaite and a relatively stable water level sustained by
Windermere
Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...
.
In 1903 a train crossing the railway bridge over the river was derailed by high winds during the Ulysses Storm.
The Leven Estuary is one of the six main estuaries in the traditional county of Lancashire.
References
External links
*
Leven (Lancashire), River
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