River Deben
Encyclopedia
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Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
rising in Debenham
Debenham
Debenham is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in Eastern England. In the 2001 census the population recorded was 1,728...
-to be precise it has two main sources but the others are mostly fields runoff (excess water) then , passes through Woodbridge
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben, with a population of about 7,480. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Woodbridge is twinned with...
, turning into a tidal estuary before entering the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
at Felixstowe Ferry
Felixstowe Ferry
Felixstowe Ferry is a hamlet in Suffolk, England, approximately two miles northeast of Felixstowe at the mouth of the River Deben with a ferry to the Bawdsey peninsula.Local businesses include the Ferry Cafe and the Ferry Boat Inn. St...
. The mouth of the estuary is crossed by a ferry connecting Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
and Bawdsey
Bawdsey
Bawdsey is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, eastern England. Located near Felixstowe, it had an estimated population of 340 in 2007.Bawdsey Manor is notable as the place where radar research took place early in World War II, before moving to Worth Matravers, which is four miles to the west of...
.
A tide mill at Woodbridge
Woodbridge Tide Mill
Woodbridge Tide Mill in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England is a rare example of a tide mill whose water wheel still turns.The mill has been preserved and is open to the public, its machinery reflects the skills and achievements of the early Industrial Revolution. The mill is a three storey building...
used to run off the tide from the river Deben.
The Deben Estuary is a Special Protection Area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...
and Ramsar Site and within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
. Its significance arises from its over-wintering population of avocets
Pied Avocet
The Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta, is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and western and Central Asia. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia...
(Recurvirostra avosetta). The estuary features shifting sandbanks. Plant life is dominated by the Common Reed (Phragmites australis). The salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
and intertidal mud-flats that occupy the most the area have the widest range of salt marsh flora in Suffolk.
There are several yacht and dinghy clubs on the river Deben. These include the Deben Rowing Club, Deben Yacht Club, the Waldringfield Sailing Club, Felixstowe Ferry Sailing Club and the Woodbridge Cruising Club.
See also
- Bawdsey Ferry
- River AldeRiver AldeThe River Alde is a river in Suffolk, England, with a source near Laxfield in the same area as the River Blyth. Initially a stream, it becomes tidal and widens considerably when it reaches Snape. It meanders east past Aldeburgh, after which this part of the river was named...
- Suffolk Coast and Heaths