The Stour Estuaries

11558-007 - SC&H KS2 FactSheet08 - ESTUARIESv08 03/04/2012 14:44 Page 2 Suffolk Coast and Heaths www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org Coastal Knowledge The Stour Things to do: The Stour estuary is 10 3/4 miles long. The south bank of the Stour is in Essex, and the north bank in Suffolk. Eels are amazing The head of the estuary is at Manningtree, and it meets Eels are very mysterious fish. Estuaries the open sea at Harwich. The name Stour comes from Find out about where Eels the Celtic word sturr meaning "strong". migrate to find mates and where they lay their eggs. The River Stour was one of the first improved rivers “Hi I’m Gladys Glacier - How long do Eels live? or canals in England. Parliament passed an act in 1705 I made the five estuaries Do males live longer than to make the river easier to use from the town of 470,000 years ago!” females? There is so much to Manningtree, to Sudbury. Horses pulled boats called find out about Eels! Write a lighters carrying cargo of pitch, tar, soap, vinegar, story about an Eel’s journey. resin, glass, butter and apples. The Stour is now used by smaller boats mostly for fun and large ferries that leave Harwich to take passengers to Holland. Estuaries Suffolk has five estuaries; the Blyth, Alde “Did you know baby Eels called Elvers and Ore, Deben, Orwell and the Stour estuary which is in Essex and Suffolk. travel past Manningtree though the sluice at Cattawade. The Environment Agency have put What is an estuary? in special Eel passes so they can get past the An estuary is where the sea and a river sluice to get to the top of the river.” meet. This is where you get a mixture of salt and freshwater called brackish water. Brackish waters are high in sediments and nutrients which have Port of Felixstowe and important come from the land and sea providing saltmarsh habitat Orwell Estuary Things to do: food for many plants and animals. Help Barn Owls and their Why are they chicks important? “20,000 years ago the sea was Barn Owl numbers are now Estuaries are very important 60 metres lower than it is now because increasing due to farmers feeding areas for wildlife. The helping to provide habitat but rain water was locked up as land ice! mud is full of worms and other the owls need nesting sites. Get This meant that people and animals could invertebrates which are fed by your school or village to adopt walk across the dry land between Britain a barn owl box or buy a box. the tides, bringing in new food Contact Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s twice a day. and Holland, the area that is now Holbrook Creek covered by the North Sea. “ Community Barn Owl project Estuaries are also important for www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org Produced by EFMS Design & Print shipping in cargo from other The Coastal Knowledge countries and lots of people sail Fact Sheets have been produced by the Suffolk and fish on estuaries in their spare Coast and Heaths AONB with co-funding from time. The landscape is beautiful and Flock of Knot on the Stour our partners. people like to walk and cycle along Photographs by Malcolm Farrow, Tony Pick, Steve the estuary taking in the fresh air. Plume and Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB. Cartoons: Gladys Glacier © Simon Reid www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org 11558-007 - SC&H KS2 FactSheet08 - ESTUARIESv08 03/04/2012 14:45 Page 4 Things to do: The Blyth estuary The Deben Did you know: How high has the sea risen? The Blyth estuary is 4 miles (6.5Km) long starting at The Deben estuary is 10miles (16km) long starting at Visit the King In your school hall get your Blythburgh and finishing at its mouth at Southwold Wilford bridge and ending at the mouth at Felixstowe Did you know the Deben is class to lie down in a straight Harbour. You can catch a ferry across the Blyth Ferry. The mouth is very interesting as it has moving home to an Anglo-Saxon line and measure how long the estuary at Southwold or Walberswick. This ferry has islands of shingle called the Knolls that change with King who was buried at line is. Work out how many been running since the 13th Century - over 700 years! the weather and tides. Suttton Hoo with his lines of your class mates treasures! Why don’t you go would show how high the sea The harbour at The ancient market and visit him? has risen! Southwold is still town of Woodbridge an active fishing harbour. Every was once a major year a crabbing competition is ship building town held at Walberswick where 100s providing ships for the of people come to try and win a English fleet fighting trophy for the biggest crab. the Spanish Armada in 1588. Smugglers Minsmere and Walberswick have used to land their a wonderful National Nature stolen goods at Reserve where you can hear Woodbridge to sell. Bittern “booming” in spring and Southwold Harbour and ferry Today there are still see Natterjack Toads. crossing in the distance many boats in the river, some working, Did you know: but the majority are Dinosaurs at Levington The Alde and Ore used for fun! Walkway across the saltings at Waldringfield In 1718 Fossilised Dinosaur dung “Coprolite” was dug in The Alde and Ore is Suffolk’s longest estuary at nearly 16 miles a farmer’s yard in Levington. (25.5Km) long. It is separated from the sea by a narrow shingle Coprolite is a very good spit (see Tides and Waves fact sheet for more details). The river fertilizer for growing crops changes its name between Aldeburgh and Orford even though it is The Orwell and the farmer started a one estuary. The head of the Alde estuary is at Snape, where you business shipping thousands The Orwell is 111/2 miles long starting at can visit Snape Maltings, the music venue made internationally of tons all around the UK, famous by Benjamin Britten. The mouth is at Shingle Street where Ipswich where the dock has operated since this still happened until quite you can find a small group of cottages built for fishermen in the the 7th century and meeting the North Sea recently. 1800s and a Martello tower. See the History fact sheet for more at Felixstowe after joining with the Stour details. The town of Aldeburgh was built estuary at Shotley. It is a very narrow around a port that sent four ships to fight estuary but is home to the largest port in the Spanish Armada! Britain. This estuary is by far the most commercialised of all of Suffolk's estuaries. The estuary has important coastal Alongside all of this activity the estuary has marshlands where you can see Avocet nationally important habitats for birds. and Marsh Harriers. Orford Ness is an There are nature reserves at Trimley, internationally important nature reserve Levington and Nacton which you can visit. because of the shingle habitat and the Peregrine Falcons nest on the Orwell Bridge birds and seals that live there. Orford Ness and Barn Owls can be seen at Levington! is Europe’s largest vegetated spit – 10 miles (16km) long! The spit formed You can fish for Bass, Mullet and flat fish almost entirely of flint deposited by waves all along the river. Jacques Bay Snape Maltings through the process of long-shore drift..

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