The
River Welland is a lowland river in the east of England, some long. It drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river
rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at
Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally northeast to
Market Harborough,
Stamford and
Spalding, to reach The Wash near
Fosdyke. It is a major waterway across the part of
the Fens called
South Holland, and is one of the Fenland rivers which were laid out with washlands. There are two channels between widely spaced embankments with the intention that flood waters would have space in which to spread while the tide in the
estuary prevented free egress. However, after the
floods of 1947, new works such as the Coronation Channel were constructed to control flooding in Spalding and the washes are no longer used solely as
pasture, but may be used for arable farming.