Ness - Flow Station

Many thanks to The Ness Flyfishing Club for capitally funding this camera's installation and the Murray Wells family for facilitating it. Also the Environment Agency for supplying such a great spot to locate the camera. The River Rye rises just south of the Cleveland Hills, east of Osmotherley, and flows through Hawnby, Rievaulx, Helmsley, Nunnington, West and East Ness, Butterwick, Brawby, and Ryton, before joining the River Derwent near Malton. The upper valley of the river is known as Rye Dale. the river rises at Rye Head in the Cleveland Hills, then collects the River Seph which flows along Bilsdale. It passes Rievaulx Abbey then enters the Vale of Pickering at Helmsley. In its eastward course from Helmsley the Rye receives the River Dove from Farndale which has previously added the Hodge Beck from Bransdale. Hodge Beck is partly swallowed by the limestone aquifer in Kirkdale and issues again further down the valley. Kirkbymoorside is on the River Dove which, like Hodge Beck has a partly subterranean course. Rosedale sends down the River Seven which comes by Sinnington to join the Rye. The steep sided Newtondale gives Pickering Beck which joins the Costa Beck before it enters the River Rye just before its mouth. Ness is the more upstream area and covers 59,000 acres. It covers the River Rye and its tributaries from its source to its confluence with the River Dove near the village of East Ness. The Ness area is mainly rural with a few dispersed settlements. It has varied topography with the northern part of the area dominated by upland moors which are over 660 feet in height and part of the North York Moors National Park. Here the land use is largely as managed grassland. Downstream, as the river approaches Rievaulx and Helmsley the land is around 330 feet in height and falls to 160 feet at East Ness. In the lower part of the area the land use is a mixture of managed grassland and arable farming. There are also some pockets of forestry and woodland on the land close to the river. Abstraction from the river is mainly to supply a fish farm at Harome and this water is returned to the river. There are two waste water treatment works at Helmsley and Sproxton. The ecology and fisheries have a very high sensitivity to changers in water flow in this area.