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River Great Ouse (Great Ouse Relief Channel)

Information about the waterway

The River Great Ouse (Great Ouse Relief Channel) is a large river and is part of the River Great Ouse. It runs for 6 miles and 4¾ furlongs through 1 lock from Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen (which is a dead end) to Old West River - Great Ouse Relief Channel Junction (where it joins the River Great Ouse (Old West River - Large River)).

The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 75 feet long and 12 feet and 6 inches wide. The maximum headroom is not known. The maximum draught is not known.

The navigational authority for this waterway is Environment Agency

Environment Agency
National Customer Contact Centre 03708 506 506 Minicom (for the hard of hearing) 03702 422 549
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency
enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk

Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:

Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:

The River Great Ouse and Tributaries

Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen Limit of Navigation - end of EA jurisdiction.
Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen Farm Bridge	4¾ furlongs	0 locks
Stowbridge Heron EA Moorings	2 miles and 4½ furlongs	0 locks
The Heron PH	2 miles and 4¾ furlongs	0 locks
West Head Road Bridge Stowbridge	2 miles and 4¾ furlongs	0 locks
Downham Market Road Bridge	5 miles	0 locks
Denver Relief Channel Lock Weir Exit Channel leading to the Weir - No Access	6 miles and 2¼ furlongs	0 locks
Sluice Road Bridge	6 miles and 2¾ furlongs	0 locks
Relief Channel - Cut Off Channel Junction Junction of the Denver Relief Channel and the Cut Off Channel - No Access	6 miles and 3¼ furlongs	0 locks
Denver Relief Channel Lock	6 miles and 3½ furlongs	0 locks
Denver Relief Channel Lock Weir Entrance Channel leading to the Sluice	6 miles and 4 furlongs	1 lock
Denver Relief Channel Bypass Sluice	6 miles and 4 furlongs	1 lock
Old West River - Great Ouse Relief Channel Junction Junction of the Old West River and the Great Ouse Relief Channel	6 miles and 4¾ furlongs	1 lock

Maps

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Additional information

Navigational Notes

External websites

Great Ouse Navigation | boating, moorings, navigation notices — associated with River Great Ouse: Information regarding the Great Ouse navigation and tributaries.
Information for boaters on the River Great Ouse - GOV.UK — associated with River Great Ouse: River Great Ouse: bridge heights, locks, overhead power lines and facilities.
Facebook Account — associated with River Great Ouse: Anglian Waterways Manager Facebook Account
Facebook Anglian Waterways Page — associated with River Great Ouse: Facebook Page for Environment Agency Anglian Waterways

Wikipedia

Wikipedia has a page about River Great Ouse

The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wash and the North Sea near Kings Lynn. With a course of about 143 miles (230 km), mostly flowing north and east, it is the fifth longest river in the United Kingdom. The Great Ouse has been historically important for commercial navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows; its best-known tributary is the Cam, which runs through Cambridge. Its lower course passes through drained wetlands and fens and has been extensively modified, or channelised, to relieve flooding and provide a better route for barge traffic. The unmodified river would have changed course regularly after floods.

The name Ouse is from the Celtic or pre-Celtic *Udso-s, and probably means simply "water" or slow flowing river. Thus the name is a pleonasm. The lower reaches of the Great Ouse are also known as "Old West River" and "the Ely Ouse", but all the river is often referred to simply as the Ouse in informal usage (the word "Great" – which originally meant simply big or, in the case of a river, long – is used to distinguish this river from several others called the Ouse).

Other Wikipedia pages that might relate to River Great Ouse

[River Ouse, Yorkshire] The River Ouse (/ˈuːz/ OOZ) is a river in North Yorkshire, England. Hydrologically, the river is a continuation of the River Ure, and the combined length [River Ouse, Sussex] The Ouse (/uːz/ OOZ) is a 35 mile / 56km long river in the English counties of West and East Sussex. It rises near Lower Beeding in West Sussex, and flows [River Cam] Cambridge, it flows north and east into the Great Ouse to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to the North Sea at King's Lynn: [River Little Ouse] The River Little Ouse is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk [River Lark] The River Lark is a river in England that crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended [River Ouzel] The River Ouzel /ˈuːzəl/, also known as the River Lovat, is a river in England, and a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises in the Chiltern Hills [Longest rivers of the United Kingdom] a river. Thus the River Ure and River Ouse can be counted as one river system or as two rivers. If it is counted as one, the River Aire/ River Ouse/Humber [New Bedford River] side of the river, is a man-made cut-off or by-pass channel of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. It provides an almost straight [Old Bedford River] The Old Bedford River is an artificial, partial diversion of the waters of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. It was named after

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