The River Blyth is a river in east

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

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. Its source is near Laxfield and it reaches a tidal

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

between Southwold and Walberswick on the

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coast.

Course

The course of the river passes through agricultural land between Laxfield and

Halesworth Halesworth is a market town, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in north-eastern Suffolk, England. The population stood at 4,726 in the 2011 Census. It lies south-west of Lowestoft, on a tribut ...

, flowing through the estate of Heveningham Hall and the village of Walpole before being crossed by the A144 road and the East Suffolk Line to the south of Halesworth. East of Halesworth the river is canalised in places and has a clear flood plain with land being used as grazing marsh. At Blythburgh it is crossed by the A12 trunk road before entering the estuarine section of the river. The estuary mouth forms the main harbour area of Southwold and is still an active fishing harbour. The estuary is central to the plot of

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...

's film '' Drowning by Numbers'', being the scene of the final drowning. The river can be crossed by pedestrians by a public footbridge called the Bailey Bridge about a mile upstream from the sea or by the Walberswick rowing boat ferry.

Navigation

The Blyth Navigation canal was opened in 1761 running from

to the Blyth estuary, leading to the canalisation of the river east of Halesworth. It was insolvent by 1884, partly due to attempts to reclaim saltings at Blythburgh, which resulted in the estuary silting up and partly due to the opening of the Southwold Railway in 1879. The navigation was used sporadically until 1911, and was not formally abandoned until 1934, when the River Blyth Navigation Act Revocation Order 1934 ( SR&O 1934/283) was passed.

History

The river gives its name to the settlements of Blyford, indicating a formerly important ford over the river, and Blythburgh. The river's name itself comes from an Old English word ''blithe'' meaning "gentle or pleasant".

References

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