The source of the River is in the Lincolnshire Wolds at Welbeck Springs, from the source to Laceby Village the river is known as Laceby Beck. As the river flows towards Grimsby it becomes the River Freshney.

Back in the late 17^th Century the River suffered from silting problems, local Landowners agreed to divert the Freshney through Grimsby Town to the Haven to provide fresh water and improve the flow.

It is believed that if it wasn’t for the Freshney, Grimsby would have never existed. Early Danish settlers used the Haven for fresh water and somewhere to harbour their boats.

According to the anonymous 13th-century poem ‘Havelock the Dane’ (c. 1272), Grimsby's name has Danish origins. The poem tells how a Danish fisherman named Grim (or Gryem) had been ordered to murder Havelock (or Hablock), the baby heir to the throne. He fled instead to England with the boy, who eventually married an English princess. As king of both England and Denmark, he rewarded Grim for his faithfulness and, according to the poem, the fishing settlement of Grimsby became an important town. Another variation made Grim a Lincolnshire fisherman who rescued the baby from a drifting boat; the child was later recognized as the son of the king of Denmark. His grateful father loaded Grim with riches, and he returned to Lincolnshire to found Grimsby.

Although the Freshney is no longer navigable by anything larger than a Kayak, the river and surrounding areas are home to many different species of wildlife. The river is used mainly for recreational purposes such as fishing and bird watching and it offers some of the best walks in North East Lincolnshire. The river features heavily in Grimsby Town Centre where numerous riverside pubs have popped up over the years, one pub is actually on the river, the Barge Inn is an old converted Barge.

Although the river is not used commercially, it flows into the docks where cars and timber from all over Europe are imported into Britain. The Fishing Heritage Centre is home to one of Grimsby’s most famous fishing vessels, the Ross Tiger. Also at the Fishing Heritage Centre is home to the PS Lincoln Castle which was the last coal fired paddle steamer in service in the UK. The service from Hull to New Holland came to an end in 1981 when the Humber Bridge was built.

The Lincoln Castle was one of three sister ships (Tattershall Castle and Wingfield castle) built around the time of the 2^nd World War. In June 2007 after unusually high rainfalls, the river bust it banks causing extensive flooding and damage to 100’s of homes. Unfortunately the PS Lincoln Castle was chewed up and sold as scrap at the request of it's owner during the year 2010.