38-698: The estuaries of the River Ribble and River Alt lie on the Irish Sea coasts of Lancashire and Merseyside in North West England . Together they, and the area of salt marsh, mudflats, and sand dunes between them, form a Special Protection Area and Ramsar site which covers the coastline between Crosby and Lytham St Annes . These protected areas overlap with two sites of special scientific interest , Ribble Estuary and Sefton Coast . A large number of different species of waders and wildfowl, listed below, use
76-682: A National Nature Reserve , and is under development as a Coast & Wetlands Regional Park . Preston City Council published plans to build a barrage across the River Ribble, in their 'Riverworks' proposals (2006). The aim of these proposals was to build a barrage and a water sports park on a section of the Ribble, coupled with over 4,000 units of housing and businesses in the river's flood plain. Some local residents opposed these plans, arguing that they endanger wildlife, increase flood risk to local housing and damage greenbelt areas. These residents set up
114-653: A community-owned company, Settle Hydro , the site became operational by the end of the year. As of February 2024, the generator has produced 1.2 million kWh of electricity. The Ribble begins at the confluence of the Gayle Beck and Batty Wife Beck near the viaduct at Ribblehead , in the shadow of the Yorkshire three peaks . It is the only major river rising in Yorkshire which flows westward. It flows through Settle , Clitheroe , Ribchester and Preston , before emptying into
152-466: A lake impounded at its southern end by a terminal moraine Raven Ray, a piece of land higher than the broad valley beyond it. The presence of fire-pits in the dale dating back to the Mesolithic era (6850–6840 BC), provide evidence of humans using the dale, but only for hunting during the summer months, with the people expected to be from the lowlands. More permanent occupancy of the dale occurred during
190-434: A large weir was constructed across the river, slightly downstream at Waddow Hall , to supply water to a cotton mill at Low Moor . The site relied on water power right up to closure around 1930, although the water wheels gradually gave way to water turbines and were augmented by steam engines . During 2009, an Archimedean screw type hydropower station was constructed at Settle weir near Bridge End Mill. Built for
228-401: A newer boat had a capacity of 19. The former is now in the collection at Clitheroe Castle Museum . A Ribble estuary fixed crossing has been proposed on several occasions, to provide a quicker route between the seaside resorts of Southport and Blackpool . Two routes for a tramroad were proposed; the first in 1899 outlined a route between Crossens and Lytham , then between 1900 and 1906 as
266-427: A predecessor of unknown age. Evidence of a bridge between Preston and Walton-le-Dale occurs in a deed in the early 13th century. A stone bridge was built in the early 1400s, possibly just west of the present Walton Bridge which was completed in 1781. Until 1755 this was the only bridge over the Ribble at Preston. The original attempt to build a bridge directly to Penwortham was completed in 1755, only to collapse
304-564: A route from Crossens to Warton via Hesketh Bank . A railway tunnel was proposed in 1907, between Hesketh Bank and Warton. A bridge was proposed between 1938 and 1947. A road link was campaigned for in 2007, envisaging a development similar to the Rance Tidal Power Station in Brittany . In 2011, an April fools' joke suggested a 9-mile-long (14 km) road tunnel from Marshside to Lytham St Annes . The River Ribble catchment
342-701: Is rö- , an intensive prefix, with nouns meaning "great" (Welsh rhy- , Cornish re-). Ribble may once have been known as *Bremetonā- , underlying the name Bremetenacum , the Roman fort at Ribchester . Involved here is the Brittonic root *breμ– , meaning "roaring" (c.f. Welsh brefu ), as observed at the river-names Breamish in Northumberland , Braan in Scotland and Brefi in Wales. Neolithic to Saxon finds from along
380-666: Is 2,302 ha (5,688 acres) in extent and it is located in the middle of the SSSI which extends to 9,226 ha (22,798 acres). There are extensive areas of intertidal sand and silt flats, and expanses of saltmarsh. The mudflats have a large invertebrate fauna on which the waders and waterbirds feed. The saltmarshes are dominated by saltmarsh grass and red fescue with cord-grass on the seaward edge. The Ramsar wetlands extend to 13,464 ha (33,270 acres) and include an area of sand dunes which has interesting vegetation and provides habitat for important populations of amphibians. The whole site
418-540: Is covered by the Ribble Rivers Trust, a UK based charity working to improve, protect and promote the River Ribble for both people and wildlife. The Ribble Estuary is an Internationally important Ramsar Wetland site , a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the Joint Nature Conservation Committee , a Marine Conservation Zone up to Samlesbury , Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI),
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#1732843964493456-557: Is drained by the south-westward flowing Kingsdale Beck which assumes the name River Twiss before joining the River Doe at Ingleton to become the River Greta . Two large waterfalls are on the lower reaches of the River Twiss; Thornton Force is 49 feet (15 m) high over one drop, whereas Pecca Falls are a series of waterfall drops covering 115 feet (35 m). The ledge at the top of
494-543: Is known to have divided the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia and there is no doubt that this was the real boundary. 53°45′N 2°46′W / 53.750°N 2.767°W / 53.750; -2.767 Kingsdale Kingsdale is a valley on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park in northern England . The name Kingsdale derives from a combination of Old Norse and Old English ( Kyen and Dael ) which means The valley where
532-1198: Is of great importance to internationally important numbers of wintering waterbirds. Birds that breed at the site include common tern ( Sterna hirundo ), lesser black-backed gull ( Larus fuscus ) and ruff ( Philomachus pugnax ). Migratory species that visit in spring and autumn include ringed plover ( Charadrius hiaticula ) and sanderling ( Calidris alba ). Birds that over-winter here include bar-tailed godwit ( Limosa lapponica ), black-tailed godwit ( Limosa limosa islandica ), Bewick's swan ( Cygnus columbianus bewickii ), dunlin ( Calidris alpina alpina ), golden plover ( Pluvialis apricaria ), grey plover ( Pluvialis squatarola ), knot ( Calidris canutus ), oystercatcher ( Haematopus ostralegus ), pink-footed goose ( Anser brachyrhynchus ), pintail ( Anas acuta ), redshank ( Tringa totanus ), sanderling ( Calidris alba ), shelduck ( Tadorna tadorna ), teal ( Anas crecca ), whooper swan ( Cygnus cygnus ) and Eurasian wigeon ( Anas penelope ). River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England . It starts close to
570-454: The Belisama , possibly giving its name to Samlesbury . Ptolemy 's " Belisama aest. " seems to represent the estuary of the Ribble. Bremetennacum was a Roman fort that guarded a crossing-point of the river at Ribchester . Remains of another Roman site were discovered at Walton-le-Dale in the mid-19th century. The Cuerdale Hoard , the largest Viking silver hoard ever found outside Russia
608-614: The Bronze Age , with sooty mounds found in Kingsdale dating back to 1500 BC. The mounds consist of ash, charcoal, sooty remnants and rock fragments, though it is unclear what the mounds were for. Another named mound is the Apron Full of Stones , the local legend being that the stones fell from the devil's apron. The site was excavated in 1972 and is a Bronze Age burial mound, though not made with limestone boulders, but from gritstone from outside of
646-585: The Irish Sea between Lytham St. Annes and Southport , a length of 75 miles (121 km). Its main tributaries are the Hodder and Calder which join the river near Great Mitton, the River Darwen which joins at Walton-le-Dale and the River Douglas which joins near Hesketh Bank . Above Hellifield the valley of the river is known as Ribblesdale . The Ribble Way is a long-distance footpath which follows
684-465: The Ribble Steam Railway . Certainly there were links between Cheshire and south Lancashire before 1000, when Wulfric Spot held lands in both territories. Wulfric's estates remained grouped together after his death, when they were left to his brother Aelfhelm , and indeed there still seems to have been some kind of connexion in 1086, when south Lancashire was surveyed together with Cheshire by
722-556: The Ribble and Alt Estuaries Special Protection Area for wildlife. An average of 340,000 water birds over-winter in the estuary making it the most important wetland site in Britain. The Ribble is also a key breeding ground for the endangered Atlantic salmon . 1.25 million people live in the Ribble's catchment area. The Normal Tidal Limit (NTL) of the river is at Fishwick Bottoms, between Preston and Walton-le-Dale , 11 miles (18 km) from
760-780: The Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (the Dee in Dentdale and the Twiss in Kingsdale being notable others). The name Ribble may be a Brittonic compound-formation. The second element is the noun *pol , with connotations including "puddle, pond, upland-stream" ( Welsh pwll ). The first
798-507: The Second World War , when it was re-laid with tarmac, and reaches a height of 1,552 feet (473 m). On the west high ground of the valley is a track known as Turbary Road (turbary being an ancient right to cut peat or turf for fuel). The route is so named as it was where the peat-cutters would transport their peat down the valley. There are several nationally important caves within the valley (such as Rowten Pot and Yordas Cave ) and
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#1732843964493836-559: The Domesday commissioners. Nevertheless, the two territories do seem to have been distinguished from one another in some way and it is not certain that the shire-moot and the reeves referred to in the south Lancashire section of Domesday were the Cheshire ones. The Domesday Survey (1086) included south Lancashire with Cheshire for convenience, but the Mersey, the name of which means 'boundary river'
874-522: The River Ribble during the creation of the Preston Docks and others revealed man has been in the area for a long time. The River Ribble looked completely different then and the coastline is likely to have been much further inland than it is at present where land has been reclaimed and the marsh extended out into the River Ribble due to sedimentation. The Ribble would appear to have been known in Roman times as
912-621: The River Skirfare in Littondale. Spells of wet weather often bring about a wall of water that travels down the valley across the dry riverbed. The single minor public road which serves the valley is an old packhorse route that connected Ingleton with Deepdale, then Dentdale, and which also forms the NCR 68 and the Yorkshire Dales Cycle Way . This road was a rough track until just after
950-516: The Roses ), King Henry VI went into hiding at a number of houses belonging to his supporters. A little over a year later he was at Waddington Hall in Waddington . On 13 July 1465, a group of Yorkists, including the property-owner's brother, arrived at the hall to arrest him. Escaping into nearby woods, Henry was captured soon after crossing the river at the old stepping stones at Brungerley. Around 1785,
988-650: The Save The Ribble campaign, and their two-year information campaign successfully overturned Preston City Council's proposals, and South Ribble Borough Council announced the alternative creation of a Country Park. Parts of the river are a County Biological Heritage Site. The River Ribble gives its name to the local government boroughs of Ribble Valley and South Ribble , and the Ribble Valley parliamentary constituency . The Ribble Bus Company once operated throughout North West England . The Ribble also lends its name to
1026-501: The cows were kept . Humans were active in Kingsdale from 6,700 BC onwards. Evidence of fire-pits used by hunter-gatherers have been found in the dale. Kingsdale is a short narrow dale, that measures 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from Thornton-in-Lonsdale in the south, to High Moss in the north. During the Last Glacial Maximum , when many of the dales were affected by ice, a glacier carved out the valley of Kingsdale, and left behind
1064-410: The estuaries as feeding and over-wintering areas. This wide variety of bird species has led to the estuaries being officially designated as a Special Protection Area and as a Ramsar site . The Ribble Estuary has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1966 and is now covered by Natural England's Ribble Estuary National Nature Reserve . The Ribble Marshes National Nature Reserve
1102-478: The following year. The Penwortham Old Bridge opened in 1759 to replace it. In 1802 the Lancaster Canal Company completed a timber trestle bridge to facilitate a temporary tramroad to connect the two isolated sections of the canal. The missing section was never completed and, although heavily modified, the disused Old Tramroad Bridge still stands today. Several ferry crossings were marked along
1140-494: The lower part of the river, on the first Ordnance Survey map of Lancashire, published in the 1840s. The Hacking Ferry near Hacking Hall and Trowers Ferry near Dinckley Hall. Another, downstream of Osbaldeston Hall and the Balderstone Hall Ferry. Also at Samlesbury Church as well as an old boat house, upstream of Penwortham Old Bridge. It is uncertain when these services began. A 1354 charter assigned some land for
1178-573: The main channel including the Savick Brook /Ribble Link, while the River Douglas, has a significant influence both on sediment transport and hydrodynamics of the estuary. There was a bridge at Edisford , Clitheroe in 1339. The age of the present sandstone bridge is not known, but parts contain features indicating they may date to the late medieval period. The current Ribchester Bridge dates from 1774. It replaced one built in 1669, which also had
Ribble and Alt Estuaries - Misplaced Pages Continue
1216-580: The river for much of its course. The river is connected to both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the Lancaster Canal (via the Ribble Link ). The river downstream of Preston was actively dredged when Preston was an active port; this is no longer done and silt from the river is now spreading more widely over the (sand) beaches around Fairhaven and St. Annes . Its 10-mile-wide (16 km) estuary forms part of
1254-454: The sea. The River Ribble has the third-largest tides in England, with tides that run at 4 knots (5 mph; 7 km/h) and a tidal range at the mouth of the river of 30 feet (9 m) during spring tides . Since River Ribble dredging ceased, the estuary is filling up with sand and is developing a meandering path, depending on the tides and river runoff. In addition, many tributaries flow into
1292-523: The use of the ferryman near Ribchester, possibly referring to the crossing near Osbaldeston Hall. The Hacking Ferry seems to have been funded by the Shireburn family of Stonyhurst , and established during the 1600s. It continued operating as a regular toll service until 1938, but continued occasionally afterward until it finally ceased operation in 1955. In later years it operated two johnboat -type rowing boats . The older boat could carry twelve passengers and
1330-511: The valley. The enclosing of the land in the valley around 1820, involved the reclamation of some areas, and the beck was also straightened. This gives the valley, what W. R. Mitchell calls, "..an unusually neat appearance." The larger part of the valley lies within the county of North Yorkshire but its highest reaches fall just within Cumbria . It is defined by the hills of Whernside to its east and Gragareth to its west. Kingsdale
1368-570: The waterfall of Thornton Force is made up of the Great Scar Limestone, the middle is cobbles from a sea of the Carboniferous period (350 million years ago), and the lower part, where the basin is, is composed of Ordovician slate which dates back 530 million years. Kingsdale Beck is frequently dry on the surface between Kingsdale Head and Keld Head, with the water travelling underground before resurfacing at Keld Head. The same thing happens to
1406-541: Was discovered in 1840 on the southern bank of a bend of the river, at Cuerdale near Preston. Whilst the medieval silver Mitton Hoard was found near where this river joins the River Hodder in 2009. At one time the Ribble marked the northernmost extent of the ancient kingdom of Mercia . At the time of the Domesday Book , the river formed the northern boundary of an area of land (known as Inter Ripam et Mersam ) that
1444-503: Was included in the Domesday information for Cheshire , though it was probably not formally part of the county of Cheshire. Sawley Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1147, at a bend in the river. It is thought that the monks built a weir to supply a mill race that powered a corn mill within the abbey precinct. After his defeat in the Battle of Hexham in 1464 (during the Wars of
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