River Colne, West Yorkshire

River Colne
The River Colne at the bottom of Chapel Hill just out of the Huddersfield Town Centre,the mill on the left is Folly Hall Mill built in 1822 by Joseph Kaye
Origin	Confluence of Redbrook Clough and Haigh Clough 53°36′19″N 1°57′28″W / 53.60528°N 1.95778°W / 53.60528; -1.95778
Mouth	River Calder near Bradley 53°40′49″N 1°43′52″W / 53.68028°N 1.73111°W / 53.68028; -1.73111
Basin countries	England
Length	20.6 kilometres (12.8 mi)
Source elevation	234 metres (768 ft)
Basin area	245 square kilometres (95 sq mi)

The River Colne /ˈkoʊln/ is a river in West Yorkshire formed by a confluence at the foot of the Pennines close to the village of Marsden.

Course

Numerous brooks formed by rainwater high (between 300 and 480 metres AMSL) in the Pennines of West Yorkshire, flow down the hillsides through the small valleys (known locally as Cloughs) to feed two Yorkshire Water reservoirs; March Haigh Reservoir and Redbrook Reservoir. Thereafter, Haigh Brook and Redbrook continue the journey down the slopes, again being fed by numerous tributaries, until the two streams converge at a scenic spot called Close Gate Bridge. This confluence forms the River Colne.

The river flows from west to east through the Colne Valley passing through the villages of Marsden, Slaithwaite and Milnsbridge to Huddersfield and then on to Cooper Bridge where it feeds the larger River Calder.

Its tributaries include Wessenden Brook, Bradley Brook, Crimble Brook and the River Holme.

History

The Colne Valley was famous for the production of woollen and cotton cloth regarded as some of the finest quality produced anywhere and all due to the soft acidic waters of the River Colne and its brooks running down through the side valleys (cloughs) from the peat moors above.

Infrastructure

The Huddersfield Narrow Canal follows the course of the river through the valley, as does the Huddersfield Line railway, and the A62 road. The river itself is too shallow and rocky to be navigable by any watercraft.

There are numerous factories, warehouses and plants along the river providing goods, services and jobs, but a few of these cause pollution to the local environment and waterways.^[1] In order to help tackle pollution, the Environment Agency demand that certain standards be met by local companies.

On 24 May 2010, part of a chemical factory was accidentally set ablaze and caused waste to be emptied into the river and the canal causing the deaths of many fish.^[2]

See also

• Colne Valley

Notes