Blue sky view, across low water channel River Ribble, North Training Wall being submerged by rising tide, Fairhaven, Lytham, UK
The low water channel of the River Ribble, from Preston Dock to the seaward limit of the estuary, a distance of 15 miles, is long and fairly straight. This is beacuse it has been trained in stages, from the 1840s onwards, by the building of low rubble walls along the sides of the low water channel. The South Training Wall (background view) is 15 miles long and the North Training Wall (foreground), disappearing under Salter's Spit at the seaward extremity of the estuary, is 14 miles long. Robert Stevenson and Son reported about training the river in 1837. Engineering works began in 1840 and the training walls were extended over the next 100 years. The seaward walls (seen here) were built 1932-37. The low water, trained channel is marked by perches and beacons, some lit at night, mounted on the training walls, which are submerged at high tide. In 1937 the Ribble had, relative to its size. the most extensive system of training works of any estuary in the UK. Dredging and training kept the channel open for large ships reaching the Preston Docks. The training walls ceased to be maintained in 1969. Dredging ceased in 1979. Preston Dock closed to commercial traffic in 1981. Yachts, motor-cruisers and fishing boats are still seen navigating the river channel. The training walls have become a hard surface for huge numbers of wild mussels, giving the walls a black colour. Afternoon view, across the low water channel of the River Ribble, of the North Training Wall being submerged by a rising tide, some way out from Fairhaven, between Lytham and St Annes. The low water channel of the River Ribble at this location is some 400 metres wide.
Size: 3127px × 2085px
Location: View of North Training Wall, across the low water channel of the River Ribble, Fairhaven, Lytham, UK
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: afternoon, annes, beds, blue, channel, coast, edulis, estuary, fairhaven, fylde, lancashire, lytham, mussel, mussels, mytilus, north, ribble, rising, river, sea, seawater, sky, st, tide, training, uk, view, wall, water, wild
