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River Great Ouse (Old Bedford River)

Information about the waterway

The River Great Ouse (Old Bedford River) is a broad canal and is part of the River Great Ouse. It runs for 12 miles and 1¾ furlongs through 1 lock from Forty Foot River - Old Bedford River Junction (where it joins the River Great Ouse (Counter Wash Drain) and the Middle Level Navigations (Forty Foot River - unnavigable section)) to Great Ouse - Old Bedford River Junction (where it joins the River Great Ouse (New Bedford 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.

This waterway is excluded by default from route planning with the following explanation: "virtually unnavigable due to silt and reeds"

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

Forty Foot River - Old Bedford River Junction Junction of Forty Foot River with Old Bedford River
Ouse Washes RSPB Reserve Bridge	½ furlongs	0 locks
Purls Bridge	6¾ furlongs	0 locks
Ely to March Railway Bridge	2 miles and 5¼ furlongs	0 locks
Delph Bridge Welney village	6 miles	0 locks
Welney Sluice	6 miles and 1 furlong	0 locks
Old Bedford Sluice Field Bridge	12 miles and 1 furlong	0 locks
Old Bedford Sluice Accessible only at low tide	12 miles and 1½ furlongs	0 locks
Great Ouse - Old Bedford River Junction Junction of the River Great Ouse and the Old Bedford River	12 miles and 1¾ 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] boats, and rowing craft. The Great Ouse also connects to England's canal system via the Middle Level Navigations and the River Nene. In total, the Cam runs [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 [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 [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 [Ouse] Ouse may refer to: River Ouse, Yorkshire River Ouse, Sussex River Great Ouse, Northamptonshire and East Anglia River Little Ouse, a tributary of the River

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