Steeping River

River Lymn
River
The weir at Mill Farm, Partney
Country	England
Counties	Lincolnshire
Source
- location	Belchford
- elevation	300 ft (91 m)
Mouth	Steeping River
- location	Gibraltar Point

The River Lymn is a river in Lincolnshire, England. It rises in the Wolds on the eastern slope of Castcliffe Hill in Fulletby parish. It flows south-eastwards to the Lincolnshire Marsh, where it becomes known as the Steeping River on the boundary of Great Steeping parish. The main channel is supplemented by the Wainfleet Relief Channel as it passes Wainfleet All Saints, and the relief channel is joined by the old course of the Lymn. Once the two channels rejoin, there are three flood defence structures to protect the region from flooding by the North Sea.

The river rises on the southern slope of Belchford Hill, to the east of Belchford and close to the 300-foot (91 m) contour. It flows to the south and then to the east to reach Tetford, where there is a grade II listed water mill and mill house. It was built in the late eighteenth century, but shows evidence that it was built around an earlier structure. The much-repaired water wheel, dating from the seventeenth century, and the corn milling machinery are still intact. Beyond Tetford the river is joined by Double Dike, and flows south through woodland, passing to the west of Somersby and Bag Enderby. Here it is joined by a second stream, which rises on the eastern slope of Castcliffe Hill in Fulletby, close to the 280-foot (85 m) contour. It flows through a large lake and is joined by a stream from Holbeck Manor before passing through Salmonby. By the time the two streams join, they are below the 130-foot (40 m) contour.

It continues to the south-east and has dropped by another 33 feet (10 m) by the time it reaches the millpond of Stockwith Mill, beyond which is Stockwith Mill Bridge. The A158 road crosses at Aswardby Bridge, and the site of Aswardby Mill is below that. The next crossing is at Sausthorpe Bridge, which carries a minor road towards Sausthorpe, and the river drops below the 65-foot (20 m) contour at this point. The course continues to the east, passing under the A16 road between Spilsby and Partney at Partney Bridge, by Mill Farm, where there is a weir with a footbridge over the top. Beyond Spilsby, it turns to the south, crossing under a minor road at Northorpe Bridge and the B1195 road at Halton Bridge, to the east of Halton Holegate. Mill Bridge carries another minor road over the channel, but by the time the river reaches it, the river is in the Fens, the channel is embanked on both sides, and it crosses the 16-foot (5 m) contour. It is joined by another embanked channel, Lady Wath's Beck, as it passes between Great Steeping to the north and Little Steeping to the south, and takes the name Steeping River.