The River Hiz is a small () tributary river in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

that feeds the

River Ivel The River Ivel is a north-flowing river in the western part of east of England. It is primarily in Bedfordshire; it is a tributary of the River Great Ouse and has sources including in the Barton Hills. Course The river Ivel has four headwater ...

that, in turn, feeds the

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 Wa ...

. Starting at its source of a chalk fed spring just south of the village of Charlton, the river winds its way through the county of

, moving its way into and through

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

, where it meets the

River Oughton The River Oughton is a two mile long tributary of the River Hiz in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. It rises at Oughtonhead and flows north-east between Oughtonhead Common and Oughtonhead Nature Reserve. It forms the boundary of Hitchin parish. The riv ...

and

River Purwell The River Purwell is a chalk stream in Hertfordshire, England. The entire course of the stream is near Hitchin. Its source is springs which rise out of the chalk bedrock at St Ippolyts, forming Ippollitts Brook. It is known as the Purwell by the ...

. The Hiz finally meets the

near the village of

Henlow Henlow is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The name Henlow is believed to derive from the old English ''henna hlaw'', meaning ...

. The Hicca Way, inaugurated in 2012, is a footpath which follows the course of the river. The Hiz is a focal point in the town of Hitchin, with a market that takes place historically by its banks. The Hiz also runs past the

Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows is a 4.3 hectare nature reserve west of Arlesey in Bedfordshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The site is a long narrow strip between the River Hiz a ...

nature reserve in

Arlesey Arlesey ( ) is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire. It is near the border with Hertfordshire, about three miles north-west of Letchworth Garden City, four miles north of Hitchin and six miles south of Biggleswade. Arlesey railway station pr ...

. Although small, the Hiz attracts a great deal of wildlife. There are many birds around this area, which include

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

and

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s. Fish inhabit the river (

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

mainly) and there is also evidence of

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

Toponymy

The z in Hiz is a Domesday-Book abbreviation for ts (or tch), and Hiz is properly pronounced "Hitch". This fact seems to be little known, and Hiz is now normally said as it is spelled. It may take its name from the Hicce tribe, who inhabited the area and gave their name to Hitchin. Ekwall says that Hiz/Hitch is a probably back-formation from Hitchin, which in turn is the dative plural of Hicce. Norden says the name is derived from a wood called Hitch, but Ekwall believes this is a conflation with ''Wychwood'', for which the Old English is ''Hwiccawudu''.

References

External links

* Rivers of Hertfordshire Rivers of Bedfordshire Hitchin {{England-river-stub