Rockley Dike rises to the north of Thurgoland, close to the 660-foot (200 m) contour, and heads east.

Near Rockley Abbey Farm, it is joined by another branch which rises near Tankersley and runs parallel to the M1 motorway.

The shareholders of the Dearne and Dove Canal had wanted to build a completely new reservoir near Wentworth Castle, on the Stainborough Dike, but the House of Lords committee imposed certain conditions on the scheme, and the company withdrew the bill rather than accept the conditions.

Instead the engineer George Leather suggested raising the water level of the existing reservoir by 4.5 feet (1.4 m), and this was carried out.

[9] Almost immediately after leaving the reservoir, the River Dove is crossed by the A61 road at Worsbrough Bridge.

It was funded by Barnsley Council, the Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership, Worsbrough Councillors and some Section 106 money.

[10] Below the basin, the Blacker Dike, which rises near Birdwell, joins from the south, and then Station Road crosses on a bridge.

Next Stonyford Bridge carries the B6096 road over the river, and Wombwell Ings, an area of low-lying ground and lakes, is located to the south.

There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates, angiosperms and fish.

Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment.

[18] Download coordinates as: Media related to River Dove, Barnsley at Wikimedia Commons