Langham Brook facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Langham Brook |
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The Langham Brook in spate towards Stapleford Park
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 Location of the river mouth in Leicestershire
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| Country | England |
| Counties | Leicestershire, Rutland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Cold Overton, Leicestershire 156 m (512 ft) 52°40′36″N 0°47′04″W / 52.676649°N 0.784547°W |
| River mouth | River Eye Stapleford, Leicestershire 84 m (276 ft) 52°45′35″N 0°47′37″W / 52.759743°N 0.793507°W |
| Basin features | |
| River system | River Soar |
| Tributaries |
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The Langham Brook is a small river, or 'watercourse', located in the middle of England, in a region called the East Midlands. It flows into another river called the River Eye, and together they are part of the larger River Soar system.
Contents
The Journey of Langham Brook
The Langham Brook starts near a village called Cold Overton in Leicestershire. From there, it flows towards the north-east and crosses into the nearby county of Rutland.
Through Langham Village
It then goes right through the middle of Langham village. In the 1920s, the river's path was changed a little here. This was done to create more room for graves in the local churchyard.
Past Ashwell and Railways
After leaving Langham, the brook flows east. It then goes around the village of Ashwell before turning to flow towards the north-west. In the 1800s, when the Oakham Canal and the Syston and Peterborough Railway were built, the Langham Brook's path was changed many times. You can still see these changes today.
The brook then flows under the Birmingham to Peterborough railway line. This is halfway between Wymondham and Whissendine. For a short distance, the brook actually forms the border between Rutland and Leicestershire counties.
Meeting Other Brooks
Soon after, the Langham Brook collects water from two smaller streams: the Whissendine Brook and the Somerby Brook. Finally, it flows through the beautiful grounds of Stapleford Park. Here, the Langham Brook meets the River Eye, ending its journey.
Health of the Langham Brook
Experts regularly check the health of rivers like the Langham Brook. This is done under something called the Water Framework Directive. The Langham Brook is looked at in two main parts.
Upper Section Health
The first part is the upper section, from where the brook starts at Cold Overton to where it meets the Whissendine Brook. In 2016, this section was rated as 'Moderate'. This means it wasn't in perfect health. The main problems were high levels of phosphate. This comes from sewage that is always flowing into the river. Also, poor soil management on nearby farms adds to the problem.
Lower Section Health
The second part is the lower section, which is shorter. It runs from where the Whissendine Brook joins to where the Langham Brook meets the River Eye. This part was also rated 'Moderate' in 2016. It had even more issues. These included sewage from both water treatment plants and private septic tanks. Plus, farms in the area were not managing nutrients in their soil well, which also affected the water quality.
