River Great Ouse
The River Great Ouse after Brownshill Staunch, near Over
Origin	near Syresham in Northamptonshire
Mouth	King's Lynn
Basin countries	England
Length	150 miles (240 km)
Source elevation	115 m (380 feet)

The River Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. It is 150 miles (240 km) long which makes it the major navigation in East Anglia, and the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The lower reaches of the Great Ouse are also known as "Old West River" and "the Ely Ouse". The name Ouse is Celtic or pre-Celtic, and probably means simply "water". ^[1] Download high resolution version (1200x900, 123 KB)Image of the River Great Ouse taken at 6pm on 19th august 2004 by User:William M. Connolley looking upstream at the GOBA moorings just past the Brownshill Staunch a little upstream from Over. ... River Wey near its source at Farringdon, Hampshire Headstream is the origin of water flow that initiates the subject watercourse. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (blue outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (green lines) of a contiguous area. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... River Wey near its source at Farringdon, Hampshire Headstream is the origin of water flow that initiates the subject watercourse. ... For other uses, see River (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Norfolk and Suffolk, the core area of East Anglia. ... This is a list of rivers of Great Britain. ...

The river has several sources close to the villages of Syresham and Sulgrave in Northamptonshire. It flows through Brackley, Buckingham, Milton Keynes at Stony Stratford, Newport Pagnell, Olney, Bedford, St Neots, Godmanchester, Huntingdon, Hemingford Grey, St Ives, the cathedral city of Ely, Littleport, Downham Market and enters The Wash at King's Lynn. Syresham is a village and civil parish in the English district of South Northamptonshire. ... Sulgrave is an area in the North East English town of Washington. ... Northamptonshire (abbreviated Northants or Nhants) is a landlocked county in central England with a population of 629,676 (2001 census). ... Map sources for Brackley at grid reference SP5837 Brackley is a town in south Northamptonshire, England. ... Statistics Population: 11,572 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SP695335 Administration District: Aylesbury Vale Shire county: Buckinghamshire Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Buckinghamshire Historic county: Buckinghamshire Services Police force: Thames Valley Police Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Central Post office... , Milton Keynes (often abbreviated MK) is a large town in northern Buckinghamshire, in South East England, about 45 miles (75 km) north-west of London, and roughly halfway between London and Birmingham. ... Location within the British Isles. ... Newport Pagnell is a town in the Borough of Milton Keynes (traditional Buckinghamshire), England. ... Olney is a small town near Milton Keynes, England with a population of around 6,000 people. ... Bedford is the county town of the English county of Bedfordshire. ... , Not to be confused with St Neot. ... Post Street in Godmanchester Godmanchester is a small town in England, immediately south of the larger town of Huntingdon on the southern bank of the River Great Ouse. ... Huntingdon is a town in the county of Cambridgeshire in East Anglia, England. ... Hemingford Grey is a village in the English county of Cambridgeshire, and is situated on the southern bank of the River Great Ouse in the county of Cambridgeshire (Until 1965 it was in Huntingdonshire and from then until 1974 it was in the short-lived county of Huntingdon and Peterborough). ... St Ives is a medium-sized market town the east of England (around 15 miles north-west of the city of Cambridge). ... Statistics Population: 15,102 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: TL535799 Administration District: East Cambridgeshire Shire county: Cambridgeshire Region: East of England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Cambridgeshire Historic county: Cambridgeshire Services Police force: Ambulance service: East of England Post office and telephone Post town: ELY... Littleport is a small town in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England, north of Ely and north west of Welney. ... Map sources for Downham Market at grid reference TF6103 Downham Market, also known simply as Downham, is a town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. ... The Wash, as seen looking west from Heacham, Norfolk The Wash is also the name of a 2001 film. ... Kings Lynn is a town and port in the English county of Norfolk. ...

The Environment Agency is the navigation authority and it attempts to attract more boaters to the river. (see also the List of environmental organizations) The Environment Agency (Welsh: Asiantaeth yr Amgylchedd) of England and Wales was created by the Environment Act 1995, along with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. ... A navigation authority is a company or statutory body which is concerned with the management of a navigable canal or river. ...

The Ouse Washes are an internationally important area for wildlife. The Ouse Washes are an area in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. ...

Tributaries

The Great Ouse at King's Lynn

The Great Ouse at St Neots

The River Great Ouse near Little Paxton.

Tributaries of the River Great Ouse: (upstream to downstream by confluence) Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2272x1704, 1453 KB) The River Great Ouse in Kings Lynn The photograph was taken by myself (Ben Dickson) on February 15th 2006 with a Canon iXus i Digital Camera. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2272x1704, 1453 KB) The River Great Ouse in Kings Lynn The photograph was taken by myself (Ben Dickson) on February 15th 2006 with a Canon iXus i Digital Camera. ... The River Great Ouse in St Neots, January 2000 Photo taken by Chris Jefferies on January 3rd, 2000. ... The River Great Ouse in St Neots, January 2000 Photo taken by Chris Jefferies on January 3rd, 2000. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (972 × 1296 pixel, file size: 601 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) w:River Great Ouse at Little Paxton near St Neots, Cambridgeshire, England. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (972 × 1296 pixel, file size: 601 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) w:River Great Ouse at Little Paxton near St Neots, Cambridgeshire, England. ... Little Paxton – in Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England – is a village near Great Paxton north of St Neots. ... Look up tributary in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

• River Babingley
• River Gaywood
• Padbury Brook
• River Ouzel (or Lovat)
• Odell Rill
• Ravensden Brook
• Elstow Brook
• Gadsey Brook
• River Kym
• Hen Brook
• Duloe Brook
• Begwary Brook
• River Ivel
• River Cam
• River Lark
• River Little Ouse
• Wissey
• Old Bedford River
• New Bedford River (also known as Hundred Foot Drain)

The Babingley is a minor river in the northwest of the county Norfolk in England. ... Geography Origin: In Derby Fen, North west of the village of Gayton, Norfolk. ... See also Lovat River (Russia). ... The River Kym is a river in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. ... The River Ivel is a river in the east of England. ... View north from Kings College bridge The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. ... The River Lark is a river in England. ... Little Ouse (light blue) and Great Ouse (dark) The Little Ouse is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. ... The River Wissey is a river in the east of England. ... The Old Bedford River is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. ... The New Bedford River, also known as the Hundred Foot Drain because of the distance between the tops of the two embankments on either side of the river, is a man-made tributary of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. ... The New Bedford River, also known as the Hundred Foot Drain because of the distance between the tops of the two embankments on either side of the river, is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. ...

Trivia

In 1944 the annual boat race between the Oxford and Cambridge universities took place on this river, between Littleport and Adelaide; it was won by Oxford. The Great Ouse is now used by CUBC, CUWBC and CULRC for training. Boat race redirects here. ... The University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ... The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at Cambridge. ... Cambridge University Womens Boat Club (CUWBC) is the University rowing club for women at the University of Cambridge. ... Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club (CULRC) is the University rowing club for lightweight oarsmen at the University of Cambridge. ...

See also

• The Ouse Valley Way (Long distance footpath along the Ouse)
• RSPB Ouse Washes (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserve)
• WWT Welney (Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve)
• Rivers of the United Kingdom
• The Boat Race

The Ouse Valley Way is a 150-mile footpath following the River Great Ouse from its source near Brackley in Northamptonshire to its mouth in The Wash near Kings Lynn. ... RSPB Ouse Washes is a nature reserve in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England, managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds at Welches Dam. ... The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is Europes largest wildlife conservation charity. ... WWT Welney is one of nine wildfowl and wetland reserves managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The reserve is at Welney in Cambridgeshire, England, 12 miles north of Ely, 26 miles north of Cambridge and 33 miles east of Peterborough. ... Statue of Sir Peter Scott at WWT London Wetlands Centre The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust is a wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and the largest international wetland conservation charity. ... This is a list of rivers of Great Britain. ... Boat race redirects here. ...

References

1. ^ Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names (2003)

External links

• Useful information on the river from Jim Shead
• Drainage and Rivers of Fens