River Leven

The River Leven rises at the southern end of Windermere and winds south for about thirteen kilometres to Morecambe Bay. It forms the boundary between the Cartmel and Furness peninsulas in North Lonsdale, once part of Lancashire. Low Wood Bridge near Haverthwaite was the first crossing until railways arrived. The river is tidal only as far upstream as Haverthwaite village. Industry once used the Leven’s steep drop at Backbarrow for an ultramarine mill and a small hydro generator at the old ironworks. The Rusland Pool, a tributary from Grizedale Forest, joins the upper tidal section. The Crake, a smaller river, meets the Leven at Greenodd. Salmon run the river and can be seen leaping at Backbarrow’s waterfalls. Kayakers come for continuous grade III+ rapids between Newby Bridge and Haverthwaite, kept steady by Windermere’s flow. The Leven Estuary is one of Lancashire’s six main estuaries. A 1903 storm derailed a train on the railway bridge over the river. The villages of Haverthwaite, Backbarrow and Greenodd lie along its banks.