River Glaven
The River Glaven in the eastern English county of Norfolk is long and flows through the North Norfolk countryside to the North Sea. Rising from a tiny headwater in Bodham the river starts miles before Selbrigg Pond where three small streams combine. The scenic value of the Glaven valley is important to the tourist industry in North Norfolk. The river is one of over 200 chalk rivers in the world and one of 160 in the UK.
Geography
The river has a catchment area of approximately 115 km2 and from its source falls 50 metres to the present tidal limit at Cley sluice The sub-surface geology is predominantly chalk and in parts of the lower valley the river runs over chalk beds. The land adjoining the river consists of a mixture of arable farm land and, in the upper reaches near Edgefield, coniferous plantations. In the middle reaches there are grazing meadows and low-lying washlands especially below Glandford Mill. The Glaven has two major tributaries: Stody Beck joins just above Hunworth Mill, and the Thornage Beck joins close to the unbridged ford on the Thornage to Hunworth road.Seaport
The Glaven Ports, Cley, Blakeney, Wiveden and Salthouse, were international trading ports for grain and fish until the nineteenth century, when land reclamation of Blakeney Spit for farming narrowed the river channel and put an end to the trade. In 2015 the river at Cley was cleared of silt to allow small craft access to the quay.Lakes and pools
There are three "on-stream" lakes associated with the main channel, these being Hawksmere, Edgefield Hall Lake and Bayfield Hall Lake. The long, thin lake at Bayfield Hall was dug in the late eighteenth century for ornamental purposes. In the late 19th century a tunnel was built into the valley side so that the Glaven could be partly diverted around the lake; this was required because regular flushing of mud from an up-stream millpond was silting the lake and killing fish.This tunnel stopped operating in 2010 and the Bayfield Hall Project set out to create a new 1.2-mile long river channel, alongside the old tunnel, to support the wildlife, including trout and other species of fish. The meandering new channel was given a gravel bed, and the speed of water flow was calculated to retain silt in suspension, without disturbing the gravel. The tunnel was retained to provided a diversion in times of flood, and as a refuge for bats. This section of river was completed in 2014. This is the longest manmade river stretch in the UK. In 2024 the Environment Agency and Norfolk Rivers Trust extended the project by removing old embankments to restore the previous, meandering course.
Watermills
At the time of the Domesday Book the River Glaven had 19 watermills. Today the Glaven has six: in order of river descent they are,,,, and . Letheringsett mill is still in use and is the only working watermill in Norfolk, grinding corn to make flour which is on sale at the mill shop.Wildlife
Water voles are present in the Glaven, in good numbers. Otters are difficult to see, but they make good use of the river. Mink were absent in 2023, after a trapping campaign in the river and its catchment area. Both red deer and roe deer are seen.The bird population reflects the range of habitats available, and the total number of species present is around 126, of which 68 have bred. Birds seen locally include kingfisher, barn owl, common buzzard and osprey. The last uses the Glaven Valley as a flyway on its spring and autumn migration and it also sometimes stays to fish. Common buzzard breed in small but increasing numbers and can be seen wheeling overhead. Barn owls frequently hunt during daylight hours. As winter approaches flocks of pink-footed geese and brent geese fly from the coast to feeding grounds on the farms inland.