River Doe Lea facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Doe Lea
The river near Doe Lea
Country	England
Physical characteristics
Main source	Pilsley 705 feet (215 m)
River mouth	River Rother 163 feet (50 m) 53°17′22″N 1°20′14″W / 53.2894°N 1.3373°W / 53.2894; -1.3373
Length	11 miles (18 km)

The River Doe Lea is a river in Derbyshire, England. It flows past places like Glapwell and Doe Lea. Eventually, it joins another river called the River Rother near Renishaw.

Years ago, the river had a lot of pollution, especially from a factory called Coalite. This factory made things like coke and other chemicals until it closed in 2004. Because of this, a Member of Parliament (MP) named Dennis Skinner even spoke about the river's pollution in the House of Commons in 1992. Luckily, efforts have been made to clean up the river.

A special part of the river is known as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This means it's a very important place for its geology, which is the study of rocks and how the Earth is formed.

The Doe Lea River: Where it Flows

The River Doe Lea starts from several springs near a place called Tibshelf. It generally flows northwards, with the M1 motorway running alongside it.

River's Journey Through Parks and Mills

Before the river reaches Hardwick Park, another stream joins it. This stream starts at Hardstoft and flows under the motorway. Hardwick Park is home to a beautiful old country house built in the 1590s. This house is now looked after by the National Trust. The River Doe Lea feeds two lakes in the park: the Great Pond and the Millers Pond.

Further along, two more streams combine near Stainsby Pond and flow under the motorway to join the Doe Lea. This combined water has powered Stainsby water mill for hundreds of years, since the 1200s! The mill you see today was rebuilt in 1850 and worked until 1952. It's also owned by the National Trust and still grinds flour for visitors to buy.

Passing Through Villages and Nature Reserves

When the river reaches the village of Doe Lea, it goes under the A617 road. Several other streams join the river here, one from the east and another from Sutton Scarsdale in the west.

After passing under Doe Lea bridge, a small part of the river is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This small area, about 0.336 acres (0.136 hectares), was given this special status in 1988 because of its important geological features.

Beyond the SSSI, the river flows past several lakes near Bolsover. The southern part of this area is called the Carr Vale Flash, which is a nature reserve managed by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. North of that is the Peter Fidler Reserve, named after Peter Fidler, an explorer born near the river in 1769. He explored North America for the Hudson's Bay Company.

The Final Stretch to the River Rother

The River Doe Lea continues its journey, flowing under bridges on the A632 and B6418 roads. It passes by the old site of the Coalite factory, which closed in 2004. An old industrial railway line runs next to the river for a while.

Further on, a stream from Barlborough Common joins the Doe Lea, followed by Poolsbrook, which flows from Arkwright Town and Duckmanton. The A619 road crosses the river between Staveley and Mastin Moor. Just before the River Doe Lea joins the River Rother near Renishaw, an old railway bridge carries the Trans Pennine Trail, a long walking path, over the river.

Understanding River Health: Water Quality

Like many rivers in areas where coal mining was common, the Doe Lea was affected by pollution, especially in the 1800s. As villages grew quickly, there wasn't always proper sewage treatment, so waste went into the river. Mining also added dirty water with lots of solids and harmful chemicals like heavy metals. This made the river very unhealthy for plants and fish.

Past Problems and Improvements

Even with the pollution in the lower parts of the river, the upper sections still had some fish, like Brown trout, especially around Stainsby. These fish couldn't survive further downstream because of the pollution.

A big source of pollution was the Coalite factory in Bolsover. While it helped reduce air pollution by making smokeless fuels, the waste liquids from this process were very toxic. The factory tried to treat its wastewater before releasing it into the river.

Over the years, efforts were made to improve the water quality. In 1992, MP Dennis Skinner highlighted the problem of high dioxin levels in the river. By 1996, new storage areas were built at the factory site to help manage drainage water. These steps helped to slowly clean up the river. Even though the factory closed in 2004, it can take many years for all the chemicals to stop leaking into the river.

How River Health is Measured Today

The Environment Agency in England checks the water quality of rivers. They give each river an "overall ecological status" rating: high, good, moderate, poor, or bad. This rating looks at things like the types and numbers of invertebrates (small creatures without backbones), plants, and fish in the river. They also check the "chemical status," which compares chemical levels to safe limits. Chemical status is rated either good or fail.

In 2019, the Doe Lea river system was rated as follows:

Hawke Brook, one of the streams that flows into the Doe Lea, has improved a lot since 2009 when it was rated "bad." In 2019, the chemical status of many UK rivers, including the Doe Lea, changed from "good" to "fail." This was because new chemicals, like certain flame retardants and pesticides, were included in the assessment for the first time.

Places of Interest Along the River Doe Lea