River Ivel

The River Ivel is a river in the east of England. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse.

The river Ivel rises just north of Baldock in Hertfordshire, but most of its course lies within Bedfordshire. It flows through Stotfold, Arlesey, Henlow, Langford, Biggleswade, Sandy and Blunham. It joins the Great Ouse at Tempsford. The total length is about 25 km.

A tributary of the River Ivel is the River Hiz, which joins near the village of Henlow. Another tributary is the River Flit, which joins the Ivel near Langford, and once formed part of the Ivel Navigation to Shefford, Bedfordshire.

The section from Langford to Blunham, including Sandy, is designated as a Flood Warning Area. For further details see the Environment Agency website

The 'Kingfisher Way' is a 34 km / 21 mile nature trail, which mostly follows the River Ivel from its source at Ivel Springs in Baldock, through to its confluence with the River Great Ouse at Tempsford. [This website is, on 12 Jul. 2011, merely a source of advertisements]

Plans for a canal for the River Ivel were first announced in 1756. Locks were built in 1758 at Tempsford, Blunham, South Mills and Sandy. Although tolls were initially lower than expected and the operators were in debt, trade increased rapidly and the creditors were all paid off by 1780. In the early nineteenth century the canal was extended to Shefford, with locks at Biggleswade, Holme, Stanford, Clifton and Shefford, and it was opened in 1823. The canal was abandoned in 1876 when a dam was built across it at Sandy, the relevant act in Parliament being passed in the same year.

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