The River Mersey
The River Mersey is
a river in the north west of England. The river's
name comes from Anglo-Saxon "border river",
likely because it was the border between Mercia
and Northumbria.
The Mersey is formed from three tributaries:
the River Etherow, the River Goyt and the River
Tame; becoming the Mersey near Stockport, Greater
Manchester.
From Stockport it flows near Didsbury, Stretford,
Urmston, Flixton, and then at Irlam it flows into
the Manchester Ship Canal, which canalised the
River Irwell to this point. The course of the
Mersey has been obliterated by the Canal past
Hollins Green to Rixton although the old river
bed can be seen at Warburton; at Rixton the River
Bollin enters the Canal from the south and the
Mersey leaves the Canal to the north, meandering
through Woolston, where the Ship Canal Company's
dredgings have formed a nature reserve (Woolston
Eyes), and Warrington. It is tidal from Howley
Weir in Warrington, although high spring tides
often top the weir. At the Runcorn Gap between
Widnes & Runcorn rail and road bridges (Runcorn
Bridge) span the river and the Ship Canal, which
runs alongside the widening estuary to Eastham
Locks where canal and river unite, and from here
the estuary narrows to flow between Liverpool
and Birkenhead into Liverpool Bay on the Irish
Sea, after a total course of around 70 miles.
The conurbation on its banks near the coast is
known as Merseyside. The eastern part of this
estuary is much affected by silting, and part
of it is marked on modern maps as dry land instead
of as tidal. At the point between the Woodside
Ferry Terminal and Albert Dock, the Mersey is
1.2km (0.75 miles) wide.
Two road tunnels run under the Mersey at Liverpool:
the older Queensway Tunnel (opened 1934) connecting
with Birkenhead, and the Kingsway Tunnel (opened
1971) connecting with Wallasey. There is also
a railway tunnel dating back to the 1880s, which
carries passenger services on the Merseyrail franchise.
Crossings are also possible via the Mersey Ferry,
again at Liverpool.
The river is now internationally famous thanks
to the music of the 1960s known as Merseybeat
and its strong association with Liverpool, which
produced songs such as "Ferry Across The
Mersey".
The Mersey Estuary - Seaforth Nature
Reserve
Over 30 acres of land within the heart of the
Liverpool dock area. The site is a paradise to
bird watchers and is an important are for seabirds
and waders. Cosisting of freshwater and salt lagoons
it also provides a valuable source of food for
the ducks that overwinter in Liverpool. For those
interested in in viewing the widlife three viweing
hides are available for use by one of the freshwater
lagoons. For more information telephone: 0151
920 3769.
River Statistics:
• The length of the River Mersey is 110
km, of which the Estuary is 26 km long
• The total area drained by the Mersey and
its tributaries is 4,680 km2
• Over 5 million people live and work within
the catchment
• The name ‘Mersey’ originates
from Old English ‘Maere’ meaning boundary
• The Mersey was the ancient boundary between
the Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria
• The River Mersey forms at the confluence
of the River Tame with the River Goyt in Stock
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