River Leen

The River Leen is 15 mile (24km) long tributary of the River Trent that flows through Nottinghamshire, and the city of Nottingham in the East Midlands of England.

Course

The Leen rises as a series of springs at the foot of the Robin Hood Hills just outside Annesley. It then flows through the grounds and lakes of Newstead Abbey, passing Papplewick and on through Bestwood Country Park, following the route of the Leen Valley into suburban and urban Nottingham. Within the city it flows through the centre of Bulwell, and passes Basford where it is joined by the Day Brook. The Leen then flows through Radford, and Lenton before joining the River Trent next to Riverside Way in The Meadows.

History

Leen is a corruption through various renderings of the Celtic word llyn, "lake" or "pool", and Anglo‐Saxon hlynna, meaning "streamlet". Some of the surrounding villages derived their name from the River Leen. Lenton, ton being the Saxon word for "village"; and Linby, by being the Danish equivalent of ton.