The River Mersey Matthew Gardner

Features 70 miles long (113 km) 3 miles at widest point (5 km) Source Stockport Tributaries River Tame, River Goyt, River Etherow Flows through Stockport, Didsbury, Northenden, Stretford, Urmston, Flixton, Irlam, Manchester Ship Canal and into the sea at Liverpool Two car tunnels, and one train tunnel go under the Mersey

Importance/Usage Good departure point for USA Was very important in slave trade Manchester Ship Canal (1894) allowed big ships to get to Manchester ships carried 1,236,000 tonnes oil, over 2.5 million tonnes of grain and animal food 452,000 tonnes of wood per year Important for wild life They are still considering making an electricity barrage

Changes in the River The River has the 4 th biggest tide in the world and 2 nd in the UK At neap tide it is four metres and at spring tide ten metres high Lots of chemicals entered the water from textile factories, polluted the River and all the fish died It took a long time to clean up the mess The Mersey is one of the most improved rivers in the country with wild life returning It was cleaned up in the 1980s and is now a popular tourist attraction

Fabulous Facts There are lots of famous songs about the Mersey including “Ferry cross the Mersey” (Gerry and the Pacemakers) In the ’60s, Liverpool bands such as the Beatles and others played music known as “Mersey Beat” In London there was no such thing as the “Thames Beat” Hindi communities in the North West pray to the River Mersey as it is the biggest river around, like the Ganges The name Mersey is Anglo-Saxon for boundary because it separates Lancashire from Cheshire