The Eye Brook is a watercourse in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...

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 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 the River Welland. It is around long.

Course

The Eye Brook rises between

Tilton on the Hill Tilton on the Hill is a village and (as just Tilton) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Tilton on the Hill and Halstead in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire. The population of the civil parish of Tilton on ...

and Skeffington in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

and flows east through a narrow valley towards East Norton. Near where it crosses the A47, it starts to form the county boundary between Leicestershire and

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

, with Belton-in-Rutland to the north, and Allexton to the south. It then proceeds south-eastwards, passing the village of

Stockerston Stockerston is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, located on the border with Rutland, by the Eye Brook. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 35. The population remained ...

. Between

Stoke Dry Stoke Dry is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, about three miles (5 km) southwest of Uppingham. The village's name means 'outlying farm/settlement'. The village is positioned on a hill a ...

and Caldecott it has been dammed to form the Eyebrook Reservoir. Shortly after the reservoir outfall, it joins the River Welland (here forming the border with

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

Wildlife

Much of the land surrounding the area is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and a report by

English Nature English Nature was the Executive agency, United Kingdom government agency that promoted the Conservation (ethic), conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body ...

considered the river to be one of the most "natural" in the county having experienced very little human intervention. The river holds a variety of fish species, including roach, dace and chub. Wild brown trout spawn in the lower reaches.

Research

The Eye Brook Community Heritage Project, funded by the Heritage Lottery, documents the evolution of land use within the Brook's catchment, the management and use of natural resources associated with it, and the underlying ecology.The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust
/ref> The Eye Brook catchment is also the location of The Allerton Project, a research and demonstration farm run by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust investigating the effects of different farming methods on wildlife and the environment.

Status

A liquid lunch in the Eye Brook - geograph

In 2016, the overall classification of the Eye Brook was "Poor" under the Water Framework Directive, having shown a significant decline in ecological condition since 2013. Reasons for this include the effect of poor livestock management and treated sewage effluent on plant life and the presence of the invasive

Signal crayfish The signal crayfish (''Pacifastacus leniusculus'') is a species of crayfish indigenous to North America. Introduced to Europe in the 1960s to supplement the North European ''Astacus astacus'' fisheries, which were being damaged by crayfish plague ...

References

External links

* {{authority control

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...