THE MERSEY RIVER, BETWEEN MERCIA & NORTHUMBRIA

Today, The Grandma has been sailing along the River Mersey located in the North West of England. Its name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon language and translates as boundary river.

The river may have been the border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria, and for centuries it formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.

The start of the Mersey is at the confluence of the River Tame and River Goyt in Stockport. It flows westwards through the suburban areas of south Manchester, then into the Manchester Ship Canal at Irlam, becoming a part of the canal and maintaining the canal's water levels.

After 6.4 km the river exits the canal, flowing towards Warrington where the river widens. It then narrows as it passes between the towns of Runcorn and Widnes. From Runcorn the river widens into a large estuary, which is 4.8 km across at its widest point near Ellesmere Port.

The course of the river then turns north as the estuary narrows between Liverpool and Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula to the west, and empties into Liverpool Bay. In total, the river flows 113 km.

More information: Britain Rivers

A railway tunnel between Birkenhead and Liverpool as part of the Mersey Railway opened in 1886. Two road tunnels pass under the estuary from Liverpool: the Queensway Tunnel opened in 1934 connecting the city to Birkenhead, and the Kingsway Tunnel, opened in 1971, to Wallasey.

A road bridge, completed in 1961 and later named the Silver Jubilee Bridge, crosses between Runcorn and Widnes, adjacent to the Runcorn Railway Bridge which opened in 1868.

A second road bridge, the Mersey Gateway, opened in October 2017, carrying a six-lane road connecting Runcorn's Central Expressway with Speke Road and Queensway in Widnes.

The Mersey Ferry operates between Pier Head in Liverpool and Woodside in Birkenhead and Seacombe, and has become a tourist attraction, offering cruises that provide an overview of the river and surrounding areas.

Water quality in the Mersey was severely affected by industrialization, and in 1985, the Mersey Basin Campaign was established to improve water quality and encourage waterside regeneration.

In 2009, it was announced that the river is cleaner than at any time since the industrial revolution and is now considered one of the cleanest in the UK. The Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service manages local nature reserves such as Chorlton Ees and Sale Water Park. The river gave its name to Merseybeat, developed by bands from Liverpool, notably the Beatles.

In 1965, it was the subject of the top-ten hit single Ferry Cross the Mersey by Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Its name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon mǣres, of a boundary and ēa, a river.

The Mersey was possibly the border river between Mercia and Northumbria. Its Welsh name is either Afon Mersi in essence a respelling of the name Mersey or Afon Merswy, apparently no older than the nineteenth century, with the suffix wy replacing the final syllable of the name, thought at the time to mean water; river and appropriate for forming river names.

More information: Mersey Ferries

 

People they rush everywhere
Each with their own secret care
So ferry 'cross the Mersey
And always take me there
The place I love...

Gerry & The Peacemakers