River Uck

50°56′28″N 0°03′13″E / 50.941°N 0.0535°E / 50.941; 0.0535

River Uck
A portion of River Uck straightened for industrial purposes
Map

The River Uck is a river in East Sussex, United Kingdom, which drains a catchment starting near Crowborough in the North, Hadlow Down to the East and Laughton, East Sussex to the South.[1] It flows through the town of Uckfield and into the River Ouse about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Lewes. The River Uck has a scenic walk alongside it. The river burst its banks in 2000, flooding much of Uckfield and the surrounding countryside.[2][3]

The signs indicating the name of the river have been subject to frequent vandalism, resulting in the council fitting specially shaped signs which reduce the ability of vandals to add the letter 'f' to the word 'Uck'.[4][5]

In the Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman novel Good Omens the Uck provides a small but important scene in the narrative.[6]

  1. ^ "SFRA North – Watercourses and Catchment Areas". Wealden District Council. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.
  2. ^ "South hit by severe floods". BBC News. 12 October 2000.
  3. ^ "Uckfield Case Study: What was the impact of the October 2000 flood?". Geographical Association.
  4. ^ Bicknell, Bob (25 October 2004). "We'll miss you, Little Dicker". CBS News.
  5. ^ Wadsworth, Mark. "River Uck (new sign, 2011)". YPP Mark Wadsworth (blog). Blogspot. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  6. ^ Neil Gaiman; Terry Pratchett (22 November 2011). Good Omens. Transworld. p. 196. ISBN 978-1-4481-1023-0.