World Rivers Day – this Sunday September 22 – celebrates the importance of waterways all around the world, and here in North East Lincolnshire we are celebrating both the Humber, which plays a huge role in the economic and environmental viability of the region, and one of its tributaries, the River Freshney, which runs through the centre of Grimsby.
In truth, the Humber is not a river at all. It is an inter-tidal estuary, which runs from Trent Falls near Faxfleet, in East Yorkshire, where the two tidal rivers, the River Trent and the River Ouse, meet. It then flows east towards its outer limits between Humberston, here in North East Lincolnshire, and Spurn Point, in East Yorkshire, and then out into the North Sea.
Historians think that there once was a River Humber, during the days prior to the last ice age, which apparently had an extensive freshwater course along the former dry bed of what is now the North Sea.
The Humber Estuary is 40 miles long and 7 miles wide at its widest point, and covers an area of 74 acres, making it the largest single output of freshwater in Great Britain, draining one fifth of England’s entire land mass. The Humber is also the largest coastal plain estuary on Great Britain’s East Coast, and the second largest coastal plain in the country.
The Humber Estuary is fed by the 185-mile long River Trent, the 52-mile long River Ouse, and the 20-mile long River Hull. Tributaries of the Humber Estuary include the 17-mile long River Ancholme and the 9-mile long River Freshney.
Due to the presence of important habitats and species, the entire Humber Estuary, and parts of its tidal river tributaries, have been given a number of nature conservation designations under UK Law. The estuary is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and a Ramsar site, together forming the Humber Estuary European Marine Site.
The estuary’s coastline is surrounded by extensive inter-tidal mudflats, sand bars, sand dunes, salt marshes and reed beds, which support a large number of wild fowl, wading birds, fish and shell fish, and marine animals, such as grey seals.
The Humber is one of the 10 most important estuaries in Europe for birds. It supports internationally important populations, including the Marsh Harrier, Avocet, Little Tern, Bittern, Hen Harrier, Golden Plover, and Bar-Tailed Godwit, and during the autumn/winter months, bird numbers swell to over 140,000 as it supports migrating birds from Iceland, Greenland and Russia.
One of the Humber Estuary’s tributaries is the beautiful chalk-stream fed River Freshney, which meanders through Grimsby. The river rises from a series of springs – the furthest south just to the north of Beelsby. It flows north and is joined by another stream, which flows past earthworks, dating from the English Civil War, before both pass under the A18 Laceby to Barnoldby-Le-Beck road.
Team Gate Drain rises just to the west of Waltham and flows to the west. It is joined by the stream from Welbeck Hill, which rises close to the A18 on the edge of the Wolds. Having combined, they flow northwards, passing under the A46 and the old course of the road through Laceby. The river is called Laceby Beck as it flows along the eastern edge of Laceby.
Although it starts off as a chalk stream, at the Green Bridge Laceby Beck becomes the River Freshney, losing the characteristics of a chalk stream as the channel is wider, creating lower flows and more sedimentation.
You can walk along most of the Laceby Beck/River Freshney apart from a tiny diversion east of Laceby village. It runs through agricultural fields to Laceby village, through grazed wetland habitat and then fields again, until it reaches Laceby Acres and urban Grimsby. It passes through the recently-designated Freshney Parkway Local Nature Reserve, the Duke of York Gardens, and the town centre, with the Ross Tiger floating in it, and then flows into the industrial docks.
Eels are present in the Freshney. The European Eel is a protected species as they are critically endangered. They spawn in the Sargasso sea only and then migrate back to the river they know – so they come from the Sargasso Sea to the Humber, and then into the Freshney.
Water voles can be seen from the Green Bridge at the end of Town’s Holt, and along the stretch of Freshney through the recently-designated Freshney Parkway Local Nature Reserve. Water voles are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
The Lincolnshire Naturalists’ Union carried out a field survey of the River Freshney and recorded 171 plant species and 60 aquatic invertebrate species: 1 damsel fly, 1 fish, 1 flatworm, 1 water mite, 1 springtail, 12 beetles, 15 bugs, 2 amphibians, 2 leech, 3 caddisfly, 3 crustaceans, 3 mayfly, 6 flies and 9 molluscs.
One of the most exciting sights on the river is an otter, which can be seen almost daily. Otters are fully protected the same as SPA birds, but are a joy to watch. Otters seek clean rivers, filled with food and overgrown banks where they can raise their cubs. Their favourite habitats include wetlands, rivers and coastlines. Though still considered rare, the species is widespread in the UK.
See more about the River Freshney here Freshney Urban Riverlife – Nature on Grimsby’s River Freshney – YouTube
This weekend, celebrate our rivers (and estuary) by taking a walk through the wonderful nature on your doorstep. Please remember to always respect and protect our wildlife.
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