From Walkern southwards the Beane becomes much more influenced by the actions of human activity and flows across much ‘flatter’ ground. Generally the river flows all year round from here south, but the channel has been extensively modified and even moved completely over recent centuries, in many cases to power watermills or to dry out surrounding farmland. At the southern end of Walkern there is a substantial former flour mill which was altered several times in its life and extensively rebuilt in 1826. A combination of dwindling water levels in the late 19th century and the introduction of ‘harder’ American wheat for bread flour saw it converted to steam power in 1881 and the mill ceased working in 1933. It is now a listed building.
The Beane continues its southward journey in a wide gently sloped valley until it reaches the confluence with the Stevenage Brook just to the north of Watton at Stone. This section of the river has been greatly affected by water abstraction from the chalk aquifer beneath it, especially from the late 1950s onwards as the water demands from the new town of Stevenage grew. As much as 18,000,000 litres of water a day was being abstracted at the Whitehall pumping station and this led to the river at the surface drying out completely in most summers. It was concern about the effects of this unsustainable abstraction that led to the formation of the RBRA in 1991. Since 2017 nearly all this abstraction has ceased, and the river is showing signs of recovery. The section between Aston and Whitehall can still dry out in periods of drought, but flow is seen both up- and downstream of here, suggesting it’s running beneath the surface in between.