The Rye (brook)

The Rye is a stream rising east of Ashtead and flowing into the River Mole near Leatherhead, Surrey.

The Rye Brook flows westwards across Ashtead Common, through the Ashtead Common National Nature Reserve, managed by the City of London Corporation. For much of its course the brook follows a straight channelled course which was dug during the Second World War in order to drain the surrounding land so that it could be used for agriculture. Under a recent (2005) initiative by the City of London Corporation, parts of the course have been remodelled. The remodelling includes meandering and reprofiling the riverbed, banks and adjacent land to create a more natural setting, in order to create a wetland habitat that will encourage a diverse wildlife.