The River Uck is a river in
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
, United Kingdom, which drains a catchment starting near
Crowborough
Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 mile ...
in the North,
Hadlow Down
Hadlow Down is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is located on the A272 road three miles (4.8 km) north-east of Heathfield. The parish is within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural ...
to the East and
Laughton, East Sussex to the South. It flows through the town of
Uckfield
Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald.
Etymology
'Uckfield', first recorded in writing ...
and into the
River Ouse about north of
Lewes
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre ...
. The River Uck has a scenic walk alongside it. The river burst its banks in 2000, flooding much of Uckfield and the surrounding countryside.
The signs indicating the name of the river have been subject to frequent vandalism, resulting in the council fitting specially shaped signs which reduce the ability of vandals to add the
letter 'f' to the word 'Uck'.
In the
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comic fantasy, comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels.
Pratchet ...
and
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
novel ''
Good Omens'' the Uck provides a small but important scene in the narrative.
References
Rivers of East Sussex
{{England-river-stub
Prendergast, H.D.V. (2019). ''Ouse and Uck. Sketch of a Sussex Catchment''. Essedon Press, Wych Cross, East Sussex.