The River Alt is an urban river that flows across
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The river has suffered from heavy pollution from industry and sewage upstream and run-off from farmland in its lower reaches. It empties into the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
, near to where the Mersey itself flows into the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
. The river has benefited from clean-up schemes and a de-culverting process to improve its water quality and provide a better environment for wildlife.
Etymology
The river's name might be of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
origin (meaning ''muddy river'') but the banks of the river are lined by villages and places with names of
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
derivation. The name ''Alt'' could also be derived from
Brittonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
''alt'', which can either mean 'cliff' or as is more likely in this case, 'burn, mountain stream' (
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
allt,
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
''ált'').
Thirdly, the obscure
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
element ''*al-'', suffixed with the Brittonic nominal suffix ''-ed'' may underlie this name.
Route
The Alt runs from Hag Plantation in
Huyton
Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Belle Vale, and the neighbouring village of Roby, with which ...
at , through
Croxteth Park
Croxteth Hall is a country estate and Grade II* listed building in the West Derby suburb of Liverpool, England. It is the former country estate and ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton. After the death of the sevent ...
, roughly follows the
M57 motorway
The M57 motorway, also known as the Liverpool Outer Ring Road, is a road in England. Designed as a Ring road for Liverpool, it is long between Tarbock Green and Switch lsland, and links various towns east of the city, as well as the M62 an ...
south of
Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...
, then flows north of
Aintree
Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England.
I ...
and south of
Maghull
Maghull ( ) is a town and civil parish in Sefton, Merseyside (historically a part of Lancashire). The town is north of Liverpool and west of Kirkby. The area also contains Ashworth Hospital.
Maghull had a population of 20,444 at the 2011 Cens ...
. It then runs south of
Formby
Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census.
Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "Fo ...
and empties into the Irish Sea, near the edge of the River Mersey estuary at
Hightown.
The Alts upper waters deriving from small streams and, in particular, one arising at Hag Plantation in Huyton. This is the location of the primary source of the river and is also the Huyton Wetlands Site of Biological Interest (SBI). The Alt then flows at a low gradient across an alluvium plain in a northwesterly direction before turning southwards and emptying into the River Mersey at Hightown between Crosby and Formby.
The Alt's catchment boundary reaches as far as Banks and
Crossens
Crossens is the northernmost district of the town of Southport, Merseyside, England.
Historically part of the ancient parish of North Meols and entirely in Lancashire, most of Crossens was transferred to Merseyside on 1 April 1974, when local ...
in the north and out to
Burscough
Burscough () is a town and civil parish in West Lancashire in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. It is located to the north of Ormskirk and northwest of Skelmersdale.
The parish also includes the hamlet of Tarlscough and the Martin ...
and
Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...
in the east. It drains a catchment area of and flows a distance of from source to the Mersey Estuary.
The river flows through varying types of land: Sherwood Sandstone in the Huyton area, Coal Measures in the
West Derby
West Derby ( ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located East of the city and is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382.
History West Derby
Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', Wes ...
area and eventually Mercia Mudstone in the Maghull/North Sefton area. The estuary forms part of the
Ribble and Alt Estuaries
The Ribble and Alt Estuaries lie on the Irish Sea coast of the ceremonial counties of Lancashire and Merseyside in the traditional county of Lancashire in north-west England, and form the boundaries of a number of conservation schemes.
Protecte ...
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...
for wildlife.
Before the installation of tidal floodgates at Hightown in the 18th Century, the river was once called a "troublesome little river" its ever changing course cutting through the field boundaries, threatening roads and bridges and was rumoured to have wiped out the hamlet of Altmouth sometime between 1577 and 1713. However, studies of mapping have shown that there was never a village symbol at Altmouth on the maps,
although one mapman stated there was a village there, but was unclear as to if it was on the north or south side of the river mouth. Flooding along the river was a problem until the 1960s when work to straighten and canalise the river, plus the opening of pumping stations at Crossens in 1959 and Altmouth in 1972, ended the regular inundation of fields by water from the sources and from the sea. The river downstream of Maghull is rich agricultural land, but of it is below sea level and so requires the pumping stations to prevent tidal incursions into the river. The river was once well known for its fish and large quantities of eels were trapped upstream and in its tributaries. Flatfish like dabs, plaice and flounder were caught in the estuary and the tidal reaches, vast cockle beds were worked in the estuary.
The river began to change in the early 20th century as Liverpool expanded and industry, then new housing began to grow along its banks. By the 1970s, the pollution had affected the river so much, it was listed as being class 3 or 4, which meant that apart from
bloodworms, there was no life in the river. Part of this problem lies with when the river was culverted and housing was erected near to and over the river, the wastewater pipes from the dwellings were wrongly connected to discharge their water directly into the river.
New sewage farms at Croxteth and Hillhouse plus modernisation to existing sewage farms and the decrease in heavy industry in Knowsley, Kirkby and Aintree began to clean up the river and by the early 1990s freshwater fish began to colonise the river from tributaries like Sudell Brook and
Downholland Brook. By 2000, the river was well known among local anglers for its healthy population of pike, chub, bream, roach and sticklebacks. Herons, kingfishers and, in summer, egrets can often be seen in the water. In 2016, the
Environment Agency released 9,000 fish into the river to replenish stocks.
The Alt is still not clean due to its heritage as a handy dumping ground for sewage and industrial waste. Currently it has a moderate ecological rating but a fail rating for chemicals due to heavy metals in its silt. However, in 2006, the amount of wildlife that lived in and around the river earned it a clean bill of health from the Environment Agency.
Improvements
In 1996, a long, and a wide section of the river flowing through Knowsley, was rehabilitated from a straight, narrow stretch of water into a low floodplain where the water would spread out into several courses over the plain. The main channel was diverted and several smaller channels were created by the addition of
berm
A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of compacted soil) separating areas in a vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line, a border/ separation ...
s to separate them. This has allowed plants to thrive and offers a floodplain where there was not one before.
In June 2014, a new section of the river was de-culverted and was lengthened through the addition of bends to improve the river's quality and also provide a greenspace for the nearby residents of Croxteth. Initially tied in with a development plan connected with Stonebridge Cross, the section was opened to daylight to create a meandering riverside that stretched to and would help when the river was in flood as well as improve the area for wildlife.
Settlements
*
Hightown
*
Formby
Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census.
Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "Fo ...
*
Little Altcar
Little Altcar is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton on Merseyside, within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire and on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain of England. The village forms part of the built- ...
*
Great Altcar
Great Altcar is a village and civil parish in West Lancashire, England, close to Formby on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The population as taken at the 2011 census was 213. The name Altcar is Norse meaning "marsh by the Alt". The church ...
*
Ince Blundell
Ince Blundell is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in the ceremonial county of Merseyside and historic county of Lancashire, England. It is situated to the north of Liverpool on the A565 road and to the east of t ...
*
Maghull
Maghull ( ) is a town and civil parish in Sefton, Merseyside (historically a part of Lancashire). The town is north of Liverpool and west of Kirkby. The area also contains Ashworth Hospital.
Maghull had a population of 20,444 at the 2011 Cens ...
*
Aintree
Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England.
I ...
*
Melling
*
Waddicar
Waddicar is the name given to an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, between Melling and Kirkby in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley.
Transport
Waddicar is served by the 345 bus service operated by Arriva which runs betwe ...
*
Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...
*
Knowsley
*
Croxteth
*
West Derby
West Derby ( ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located East of the city and is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382.
History West Derby
Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', Wes ...
*
Huyton
Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Belle Vale, and the neighbouring village of Roby, with which ...
Tributaries
*
Downholland Brook
**New Cut
**Bull Cop
**Sandy Brook
***Old Canal
**Fine Jane's Brook
**Leather Barrow's Ditch
***Cheshire Lines Brook
**Barton Brook
**Chisnall Brook
***Rough Brook
*Arnold's Cop
*Main Sluice
**Tongue's Watercourse
**Within's Watercourse
*Lydiate Brook
**Carr Sluice
*Maghull Hey Cop
**Carr Sluice
*Hunt's Brook
*
Maghull Brook
*St. Helen's Gutter (as the Alt is known between Aintree and Maghull)
*Dover's Brook
**Whinny Brook
*Harrison's Brook
*Netherton's Brook
*
Kirkby Brook
**
Simonswood Brook
*Knowsley Brook
*
Tue Brook
The Tue Brook or Tew Brook is a small river or stream in Liverpool. It flows through the suburb of West Derby and is the main tributary of the River Alt. The brook is now almost entirely culverted and runs underground, but is remembered in the name ...
Gallery
File:Source of the Alt, wetlands at Huyton - geograph.org.uk - 124073.jpg, Source of the Alt; wetlands at Huyton
File:Hightown - River Alt.jpg, Yachts moored at the mouth of the River Alt
File:Maghull Brook.JPG, Maghull Brook
File:Tue Brook 02 June 2014 (1).jpg, The last open section of the Tue Brook
File:Alt Pumping Station - geograph.org.uk - 1227336.jpg, Alt Pumping Station
References
Sources
*
External links
Alt Crossens pumping stations history videosFirm fined for sewage pollutionRiver Rehabilitation Scheme at HuytonRiver rehabilitation in an urban environment: examples from the Mersey Basin, North West EnglandThe River Alt flood management review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alt, River
Alt
Alt or ALT may refer to:
Abbreviations for words
* Alt account, an alternative online identity also known as a sock puppet account
* Alternate character, in online gaming
* Alternate route, type of highway designation
* Alternating group, mathema ...