The Great Ouse river is navigable from Bedford to the Wash at King’s Lynn.
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The length of the River Great Ouse that is navigable
The navigation was re-opened to Bedford in 1978, following a campaign led by the Great Ouse Restoration Society, and supported by IWA, with volunteer support from Waterway Recovery Group.
The Great Ouse river is navigable from Bedford to the Wash at King’s Lynn with connections to the River Nene via the Middle Level, the Cam, the Lark (25 miles), the Wissey (10.5 miles) and Little Ouse (16.5 miles).
There are also connections to the navigable drains of the New Bedford River (20.8 miles), Old Bedford River (12.3 miles) and Flood Relief Channel from Denver Sluice to near King’s Lynn.
Until the 13th century, the river flowed via Upware and Wisbech but then changed its course to come out at King’s Lynn. It became important for trade and from the 17th century improvements were made to the navigation. At the same time, drainage works were carried out in the area. By the early 20th century, navigation had ceased upstream of St Ives, but the Great Ouse Catchment Board reopened navigation to Godmanchester and then Eaton Socon just before the Second World War.
The navigation was re-opened to Bedford in 1978, following a campaign led by the Great Ouse Restoration Society, and supported by IWA, with volunteer support from Waterway Recovery Group.