Rivers of Britain

STUART FISHER

RIVERS

ESTUARIES, TIDEWAYS, HAVENS, LOCHS, FIRTHS AND KYLES

O F B R I TA I N

ADLARD COLES NAUTICAL LONDON

Rivers of Britain 1 - 48.indd 1

13/10/2011 14:56

Published by Adlard Coles Nautical an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square London WC1B 3DP www.adlardcoles.com First edition published 2012 Copyright © Stuart Fisher ISBN 978-1-4081-4656-9 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems – without the prior permission in writing of the publishers.

Rivers of Britain 1 - 48.indd 2

The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This book is produced using paper that is made from wood grown in managed, sustainable forests. It is natural, renewable and recyclable. The logging and manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd

13/10/2011 14:56

Contents Introduction

5

36 River Forth

134

1 River Camel

6

37 River Tyne

142

2 River Torridge

9

38 River Hull

149

3 River Taw

12

39 River Ouse (Humber)

153

4 River Parrett

15

40 River Trent

158

5 River Avon

18

41 River Nene

163

6 River Severn

23

42 New Bedford River

167

7 River Wye

30

43 River Bure

174

8 River Loughor

36

44 River Yare

179

9 Afon Tywi

38

45 River Waveney

186

10 Afon Taf

40

46 River Alde

190

11 Milford Haven

42

47 River Deben

194

12 River Dovey

47

48 River Orwell

197

13 Afon Mawddach

49

49 River Stour

200

14 Afon Dwyryd

52

50 River Colne

202

15 Afon Cefni

55

51 River Blackwater

205

16 Afon Conwy

57

52 River Crouch

208

17 River Dee

61

53 River Roach

211

18 River Mersey

65

54 River Thames

213

19 River Lune

72

55 River Medway

236

20 River Duddon

74

56 River Great Stour

243

21 River Wampool

76

57 River Ouse (East Sussex)

247

22 Lochar Water

78

58 River Adur

251

23 River Clyde

80

59 River Arun

254

24 Gare Loch

89

60 Chichester Channel

257

25 Loch Long

92

61 Portsmouth Harbour

260

26 Loch Fyne

95

62 Southampton Water

268

27 West Loch Tarbert

99

63 Poole Harbour

272

28 Loch Sween

101

64 The Fleet

276

29 Loch Etive

104

65 River Exe

280

30 Loch Linnhe

109

66 River Dart

282

31 Kyle of Sutherland

116

67 River Tamar

286

32 Cromarty Firth

119

68 Lynher River

291

33 Beauly Firth

123

69 River Fowey

293

34 Firth of Tay

127

70 Carrick Roads

297

35 River Earn

132

Index

302

Rivers of Britain 1 - 48.indd 3

13/10/2011 14:56

Introduction Tidal rivers are a unique part of our waterways system, waters which can be overlooked yet can also be very special places. They are where inland rivers finally morph into estuaries, tideways, havens, sea lochs, firths and kyles and then into open ocean, sometimes with aspects of both inland rivers and the sea, sometimes with conditions common to neither, but always memorable places.

They can be very different from each other. Such mighty and historically important rivers as the Thames, Medway, Mersey, Tyne and Clyde are worlds apart from small rivers which wind across flat coastal marshes, empty into rocky sea lochs or feed popular holiday inlets in the West Country. Some, such as the Severn and the Dee, have seen major changes to their natures during recent centuries from major transport links to places too silted up for craft of any size.

A surprise might be the number of superlatives related to these tidal rivers. Time after time we meet Britain’s, Europe’s or the world’s largest, oldest or other prime example of manmade or natural feature. They are often overlooked wildernesses on our doorsteps. Here are the best of human and natural environments, sometimes masquerading as muddy channels. It would be a mistake to ignore them.

Some can drain at their lower ends to leave water which may be too shallow to use and that is frequently lined with banks of silt, which can make landing impossible. However, all that mud is also a haven for birdlife and there is no better way to see it without causing disturbance than from a boat, from huge flocks of waders circling around to individual egrets picking carefully over what morsels are available. Higher reaches can be narrow and tree-lined or edged with reeds, places for more secretive birds to hide. Larger animals can also find refuge from people in what can be, literally, a no-man’s-land. Walkers and cyclists discover that visiting this environment can be a chance for them to leave the crowds behind, too, and get off the beaten track, perhaps following great embankments all day with just the sea and the broad sky for company, rarely meeting another person.

Yet other people have been here before and places now unimportant can be steeped in history and in stories which may or may not be fully believable. Kings, queens, Prime Ministers and notable names of lesser pedigree turn up in the most unexpected places.

In the way of adventure playgrounds, the lower ends of tidal rivers bring new challenges for users. Inland boaters have to face and be aware of tides and of ocean waves, which create new safety issues. Sometimes sailing in estuaries can also mean interaction with large craft and industrial or naval complexes. The offshore sailor used to the open ocean can be faced with limited channels and swift currents. Rivers can offer shelter from bad weather or can form traps from which it is hard to escape. Narrowing routes can be restricting for those under sail at the same time as avoiding craft restricted to fairways by their size. Once upstream of tidal water there can be a need for licences or matters of private ownership.

Walkers and cyclists also need to be aware of potential issues and sometimes be as informed about tides as are those on the water. Lack of bridges in remoter areas can be restricting, including over side channels. On the other hand, bridges can often be dramatic, some of our most impressive engineering.

Because of unfamiliar problems, estuaries are often ignored by those whose comfort zones restrict them to inland waters or to the open sea. Here there are challenges to be met but here is also a special environment which can be missed all too easily.

Stuart Fisher Legend for maps Featured river Other canal or river Motorway Other road Railway Open water or sea Inter-tidal zone Built-up area Woodland Scale 1:200,000.

North is always at the top.

Photographs Jim Chapman p270 bottom Les Chatfield p250 top Becky Fisher p263 top two Jim Linwood p275 top Craig Morley p267 bottom Angie Muldownie p270 top, p271 David Shapter p195 top left Iain Simpson p249 bottom left John Stratford p176 top left David Striker p188 centre All other photographs by the author.

Footnote: In Scotland there is a right to use all waters at all times subject to reasonable behaviour, as is normal in most countries. The right to navigate tidal waters in England and Wales is generally undisputed. However, with the exception of a small minority of rivers, most of which require licences, it is claimed by some that there is no right of navigation on some 98 per cent of the non-tidal rivers in England and Wales. Research for a law degree by the Revd Dr Douglas Caffyn suggests that what is being applied is not the law but a series of errors made in the legal textbook A Treatise of the Law of Waters & of Sewers of 1830, when water transport was in decline and there was negligible recreational use of rivers, so the mistakes had less significance back then than they do today. Caffyn claims the right of navigation on inland waters in England and Wales has never been lost and has challenged anyone to dispute his findings. Nobody has done so, including DEFRA lawyers who have been reviewing his work since 2004. This book has deliberately restricted its scope to tidal waters, not least while waiting for DEFRA to resolve the legal confusion.

For further information see caffynonrivers.co.uk if you are concerned about navigation rights upstream of the waters covered in this book.

By same author Canals of Britain (abbreviated CoB in reference panels), 2009 Inshore Britain, 2006 5

Rivers of Britain 1 - 48.indd 5

13/10/2011 14:56

1 River Camel Where St Petroc and Rick Stein landed The tide is high and a sleepy Atlantic sends Exploring ripple on ripple down the Polzeath shore, And the gathering dark is full of the thought of friends I shall see no more.

John Betjeman

The tidal limit at Polbrock.

The River Camel rises on Hendraburnick Down, just 5km from Cornwall’s north coast. It flows south to Bodmin, following the western edge of Bodmin Moor, before turning northwest and returning to the north coast.

The tidal limit is at Polbrock. The river quickly runs out of momentum and has become placid by the confluence with the River Allen which rises near to the Camel at Camelford and runs parallel all the way. The Camel’s banks are lined with sand in which bands of peat can be seen and boats begin to appear on them. There swans and lapwings congregate in flocks.

Wadebridge is the first place where more than a handful of houses are seen together and is based around the 17 arch bridge, of which 13 arches remain visible.

The downstream half was built in the 15th century, making use of an island in the river. Before that it was a dangerous ford and there were chapels at each end where travellers could pray before attempting the crossing. Even now there are quite fast rapids beneath the bridge at some stages of the tide although these don’t seem to worry the ornamental ducks on the island.

There is a chip shop on the right bank although most of the town is on the left beyond a children’s playground.

Amongst other facilities are a supermarket and the Bridge on Wool public house. Waterside industry includes boatyards, a builders’ yard and a coachworks. Slipways come down to the water by the old quay but the port went into decline with the silting up of the river and the coming of the railway in 1899.

In turn, the railway is no more, having now become the Wadebridge Padstow Path which follows the south bank of the estuary.

The A39 passes high over the estuary on a recent bridge.

The bridge at Wadebridge has a tidal rapid beneath.

6

Rivers of Britain 1 - 48.indd 6

16/09/2011 11:08

The estuary below Cant Hill, drained at low water.

The Royal Cornwall Showground, as befits this agricultural centre, overlooks the estuary opposite the confluence with the River Amble at Trewornan, a treelined cleft which is spoilt only by a caravan site located in it.

A windmill dominates the hilltop above Trevelver but the main feature of the upper estuary is the rounded bulk of Cant Hill with Cant Cove and Gentle Jane cutting into its two flanks.The south bank is tame by comparison, its most obvious features being a great heap of rock slab debris and a three arched steel railway viaduct at the foot of Dennis Hill which bears an obelisk to Queen Victoria.

The widest part of the estuary is the pool although it can still have strong tides of over 6km/h.The Camel is the largest inlet in north Cornwall and it is alive with sailing, water skiing and other craft in the summer. Rock Sailing & Water Ski Club is based in an old grain warehouse which is prominent behind the moorings in Porthilly Cove. Strangely, Rock is predominantly sand, just about the only place in the estuary not dominated by rock.

In the summer passenger ferries cross to Padstow and have done so since at least the 14th century. They have become an important link in the South West Peninsula Coast Path which follows down both banks of the estuary.

The ferries’ route into Padstow is now dictated by the Town Bar and different landing points are used at high and low water. Padstow has an ancient quay and a fishing harbour used by coasters up to 1,300t but only when the tide permits. It was once the most thriving port in north Cornwall, handling fish, wine, slate, ores, timber and Cornish emigrants to America. It was one of the towns to which rioting tin miners headed during hard times. Now it has dinghies, shark angling and powerful sightseeing boats which thunder off down the estuary. Until 1952 it had the largest lifeboat in Britain. The current one is based in an award winning building of 2007. The North Quay has a sobering shipwreck chart. A lobster hatchery is located near the lifeboat station.

Associations with the sea have been long. St Petroc, son of a Welsh king, sailed from Wales with 60 followers to what became Petrocstow in the 6th century, struck water from a rock and founded a monastery, sacked by

the Vikings in 981. Padstow has been the ecclesiastical capital of Cornwall. The present St Petroc’s church of 1425–50 (with part of the tower from much earlier) has a 15th century font carved from blue Catacleuse stone which outcrops near Trevose Head. It has carved scallop shells on the pulpit to record pilgrims to the shrine of St James in Santiago.

Sir Walter Raleigh presided in the courthouse on the South Quay while Warden of the Stannaries of Cornwall and much of the town remains unchanged with narrow streets. On May Day the ’Obby ’Oss takes to the streets in the oldest dance ceremony in the British Isles, based on pagan origins. Museum exhibits in the town include photographs and documents about the area, tools used in shipping, agriculture and the home, shipwrecks, maritime and lifeboat themes, a collection of minerals and items from the Southern Railway. Chef Rick Stein has nine different restaurants in the town. A tropical bird and butterfly garden has 200 species of tropical birds and a collection of exotic and unusual plants although palms grow quite

freely in the area in the mild climate. There is a carnival week in July and the Camel Sailing Week takes place in August.

A First World War memorial faces a narrow part of the estuary.

Opposite Gun Point with its bunkers is Brea Hill with some tumuli and the 14th century St Endoc’s church which was buried beneath sand dunes 7

Rivers of Britain 1 - 48.indd 7

16/09/2011 11:08

Rivers of Britain for hundreds of years and is where John Betjeman is buried.

The Doom Bar led to the decline of Padstow as a shipbuilding and trading port, inconveniencing over 300 vessels which fell foul of it. Fed by the easterly longshore drift which brings sand into the estuary, it changes shape after gales, storms or prolonged periods of northwesterly winds and can create conditions to challenge expert surfers. The sea breaks on the bar at low water and at other stages of the tide large breakers can roll up the Narrows to break in columns of spray at the south end of Harbour Cove if conditions are right.

The coastguard station at Hawker’s Cove was formerly the lifeboat station before it became too silted up. There is a 12m daymark on Stepper Point.

If the sea is rough, Daymer Bay is the last safe landing point, kitesurfers permitting. Deposits of glacial till outcrop at Trebetherick and the beach is backed by cliffs. Surfing is banned from the beach.

Ahead lies Pentire Point, composed of knobbly pillow lavas, and the prominent island of Newland. Exit is possible in Hayle Bay at Polzeath but the groundswell is almost always present, the bay faces west and if there is surf anywhere in north Cornwall it will be found here as it traps the waves. The surf is at its biggest around low tide and, although its break is not as fast as some, it can be big. Waves of 2–3m rolling in at the ends of the day are not unusual.

Near to hand are a large car park, the Galleon Café and takeaway, stores, supermarket and toilets with hot showers.

Distance 14km from Polbrock to Padstow Bay OS 1:50,000 Sheet 200 Newquay & Bodmin Admiralty Charts 1149 Pendeen to Trevose Head (1:75,000) 1156 Trevose Head to Hartland Pt (1:75,000) 1168 Harbours on N Coast of Cornwall.

Approaches to Padstow (1:25,000). River Camel – Padstow to Wadebridge (1:25,000)

The Rock Sailing & Water Ski Club clubhouse is a listed building, a former grain warehouse.

Tidal Constants Wadebridge: HW Dover –0550, LW Dover –0220 Padstow: HW Dover –0550, LW Dover –0540 Sea Area Lundy Rescue Inshore lifeboat: Rock All weather lifeboat: Padstow

Newland, Pentire Point and Hayle Bay at Polzeath.

8

Rivers of Britain 1 - 48.indd 8

16/09/2011 11:08

2 River Torridge Fighting the Spaniards, fact and fiction So Lord Howard past away with five ships of war that day, Till he melted like a cloud in the silent summer heaven; But Sir Richard bore in hand all his sick men from the land Very carefully and slow, Men of Bideford in Devon, and we laid them on the ballast down below; Alfred, Lord Tennyson The River Torridge is home to two major books, Tarka the Otter and Westward Ho! It is the latter which relates particularly to the estuary although Tarka does swim its length.

The Torridge rises on Welsford Moor and flows southeast then north across Devon to the River Taw. It is tidal from Halfpenny Bridge at Annery Kiln, a toll bridge in the past.

Initially there are stone rapids, drowning out as the tide rises, but these soon give way to mudflats edged by reeds.

Numbers of salmon and trout in the river have been much reduced by farm pollution.

The Torrington or Rolle Canal joins beneath powerlines. In use from 1825 to 1871, it brought tub boats down from Torrington, exporting agricultural produce and importing limestone and coal. Restoration can be seen at Sea Lock and its basin.

A wooded reach results in dead trees lying in the shallows on each side of the river but it is wide enough for these not to cause obstruction.

The A386 cuts across a loop of the river at Landcross, scene of the duel between Will Cary and Don Guzman in Westward Ho! Mallards and kingfishers are found around the saltmarsh with its sea aster, levĂŠes protecting the insides of bends although steep woods constrain the outsides of bends below Hallspill. Otters are still present on the river, as are herons.

A bridge which formerly carried a railway to take clay from Meeth to Bideford quay now has nothing more onerous than a cycle track over it. The River Yeo joins immediately below it, near old limekilns.

The road comes back alongside and a significant cliff

Restoration of the bottom lock on the Torrington Canal. faces the river above Bideford where the rock has been cut back to accommodate the road.

Bideford is best known for its Grade I listed Long Bridge, carrying the B3233. It also carries the Southwest Coast Path which follows both banks downstream. It had been planned to build the bridge 800m upstream but Westward Ho! relates how the materials were moved down each night until an angel told the parson, Sir Richard Gurney, to build it where the materials were left, as a result finding the only firm foundations in the vicinity.

The tidal limit rapid at Annery Kiln bridge.

9

Rivers of Britain 1 - 48.indd 9

16/09/2011 11:08

Fallen trees along the edge of the river at Landcross.

Built in 1286 in timber, it had masonry added around the outside in about 1500.There are two dozen pointed arches, 3.7–7.6m wide. Each was donated by a different village, the size reflecting the size of the sponsoring village. This provides quite a restriction on the flow, resulting in a drop of up to 300mm in the water level at the bridge. In 1968 the two arches at the Bideford end collapsed. Because of chloride attack to the 1925 cantilevered concrete footways it has one of the largest cathodic protection systems of its kind in the country. It takes the local church bell 22

The steep wooded bank below Hallspill.

seconds to strike 8 o’clock and a race is held across the bridge each June to try to beat the clock.

This is the start of the Port of Bideford. The town received its charter in 1272 and it was Britain’s third largest port by the 16th century. Sir Richard Grenville’s Revenge was crewed by Bideford men and a brass plate in the church by the bridge records how he died from wounds while fighting 15 Spanish ships in 1591. The church also has a medieval tower and a Norman font which was used to baptize the first Red Indian in England.

In the 17th century there was wool trade with Spain and between 1700 and 1755 it imported more tobacco than London did, trading with the West Indies and North America. Small coasters now export ball clay and import fertilizer and gravel. Fishing vessels also use the quay and the passenger ferry MV Oldenburg operates to Lundy.

Shipping movements and loads are posted, the public being allowed to use the treelined quay when loading is not taking place.

Charles Kingsley wrote part of Westward Ho! in the Royal Hotel, formerly a merchant’s house. Another hotel is the Rose of Torridge, Rose Salterne, Westward Ho!’s beauty, having that appellation.

Victoria Park has an Armada cannon. The Burton Art Gallery & Museum has ship models (including some by Napoleonic prisoners of war), shells, paintings, ceramics and pewter. Old Ford House has West Country crafts.

Bideford was where Susanna Edwards, Mary Trembles and Temperance Lloyd were convicted as witches in 1682, mostly on their own evidence as they seemed to have a death wish.

At the other end of Bideford Bridge is East-the-Water,

Bideford Bridge, the Long Bridge, undergoes repairs.

10

Rivers of Britain 1 - 48.indd 10

16/09/2011 11:08

home of the 1900 trading schooner SV Kathleen & May, the last registered West Country merchant topsail schooner. The three master was retired in 1960 and is now a museum piece. There is also restored railway track with a diesel engine, a buffet carriage, a carriage housing the Railway Carriage Visitor Centre and a replica signal box containing Bideford Railway Museum.

Flood embankment protects the salterns as the 1987 Torridge Bridge carries the A39 high over the estuary.

Cliffs overlook the water with wrecks and activity which ranges from rowing to water skiing, water where the depth changes frequently. Herring and blackbacked gulls, egrets and cormorants supervise the mud.

At Westleigh is the William & Mary house of Tapeley with fine 18th century ceilings, porcelain and furniture. It is set in 8ha of the 19th century Georgian Tapeley Park Gardens with Italian terraces, shell house and ice house.

A history of shipbuilding is ongoing at Northam where Appledore Shipbuilders use the 1969 shed which forms Europe’s largest covered shipyard, handling craft to 13,000t, bulk carriers, supply vessels and survey ships.

Local craftsmen have built replicas of a Roman galley, a Viking longboat, the Golden Hinde and the Nonsuch, the ship which led to the founding of the Hudson Bay Company in 1668. The area featured in Kipling’s Stalky stories.

The Royal Marines use landing craft from Zeta Berth on the opposite shore. In earlier days it was limekilns which were a centre of boating activity.

Appledore has had salmon fishing for over a millennium although bass, cockles, winkles and scallops are more common these days. Some houses in Appledore are from the 16th century but most, often colour-washed, are 19th century. The 1846 quay takes ships to 800t. It was made a free port by Elizabeth I for its part in helping to defeat the Armada. It built 200 Napoleonic War ships in 15 years but shortages of wood in the 19th century resulted in Appledore men going to Prince Edward Island to build

The Kathleen & May moored at East-the-Water. their boats and then sailing them home. The North Devon Maritime Museum in Odun House, formerly the home of shipowners, merchants and mariners, covers naval and merchant marine services, fishing, shipbuilding, Prince Edward Island, rescue, piloting, Vikings, wrecking and local smuggling with tools, models and paintings. A 1948 Appledore salmon boat is a rare survivor, it being usual to burn them when their owners died.There is an Appledore Book Festival in the autumn.

A passenger ferry crosses to Instow with its 17th century quay. A rare 1873 signal box is listed but the level crossing is now used for a cycleway crossing a road, a situation becoming more common these days. Instow attracts artists for the light and cricketers for the North Devon Cricket Club. Instow Sands lead to dunes and wooden leading light towers at the end of the Port of Bideford as the River Taw is joined.

Distance 11km from Annery Kiln to the River Taw OS 1:50,000 Sheets 180 Barnstaple & Ilfracombe 190 Bude & Clovelly Admiralty Charts 1160 Harbours in Somerset & N Devon.

Barnstaple & Bideford (1:25,000) 1164 Hartland Pt to Ilfracombe inc Lundy (1:75,000) Tidal Constants Bideford: HW Dover –0520, LW Dover –0500 Appledore: Dover –0520

Bideford waterfront.The Rose of Torridge was the discredited heroine of Westward Ho!

Sea Area Lundy Rescue Inshore lifeboat: Appledore All weather lifeboat: Appledore

The Torridge Bridge takes the A39 clear of Bideford and its medieval crossing.

11

Rivers of Britain 1 - 48.indd 11

16/09/2011 11:08

Rivers of Britain

By Stuart Fisher

Also Available

www.adlardcoles.com