River Bain

River Bain
The Bain
River
Tilting Gate Weir near Thornton
Country	England
Region	Lincolnshire
Tributaries
- left	Out Gowt, River Waring, Haltham Beck
Source
- location	Ludford, Lincolnshire Wolds, England
- elevation	130 m (427 ft)
Mouth	River Witham
- location	Dogdyke, Tattershall
- coordinates	53°5′0.1″N 0°11′45.8″W / 53.083361°N 0.196056°W / 53.083361; -0.196056Coordinates: 53°5′0.1″N 0°11′45.8″W / 53.083361°N 0.196056°W / 53.083361; -0.196056

The River Bain is a river in Lincolnshire, England, and a tributary of the River Witham.

The Bain rises in the Lincolnshire Wolds at Ludford, a village on The Viking Way long-distance footpath, and flows through or past the villages of Burgh on Bain, Biscathorpe, Donington on Bain, Goulceby with Asterby and Hemingby before reaching the town of Horncastle where it is joined by the River Waring, which rises at Belchford, 5 miles (8.0 km) to the north east of Horncastle.

After leaving Horncastle, the Bain flows through the villages of Kirkby on Bain, Coningsby and Tattershall, and joins the Witham at Dogdyke. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and after protracted negotiation, a group of venture capitalists led by Sir Joseph Bankscanalized the Bain between Horncastle and the Witham. The Horncastle Canal opened in 1802 and was an important goods route before the coming of the railway. It is no longer navigable, but is used extensively by anglers, canoeists, and naturalists.