The Wash

The Wash is an almost square shaped bay located off the coast of the English counties of Lincolnshire and Norfolk. At fifteen miles long and covering an area of one hundred square miles, The Wash is the largest natural bay in England. The marine limits of the Wash are from Gibraltar Point in Lincolnshire at it's most northern point to Hunstanton in Norfolk at it's southern most point.

The Wash is fed by four large rivers, the sixty five mile long River Welland, the eighty two mile long River Witham, the ninety one mile long River Nene and the one hundred and forty three mile long River Great Ouse, which between them drain some of England's lowest lying terrain located in the fen lands of the counties of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk, before eventually making their way out into the North Sea.

The vast bay consists of salt marshes and extensive inter tidal mudflats which are interspersed with saline lagoons and extensive areas of quicksand.

Due to these low lying marshes and fen land the coastline which surrounds The Wash is a sparsely populated area, with just the Norfolk coastal village of Old Hunstanton and the Norfolk holiday resort of Hunstanton the only communities actually located on the coast of The Wash. Hunstanton, due to it's geographical location, is unique for being the only east coast town in Britain to face west and to see the sun set over the sea.

The largest urban areas located near The Wash coast include King's Lynn, Heacham and Snettisham in Norfolk and Boston and Long Sutton in Lincolnshire.

The waters of the Wash are home to several conservation areas, including the nineteen acre Wash Natural Nature Reserve, the one thousand square acre, Welney Wetlands Reserve and the one hundred and forty square acre Snettisham RSPB Reserve. The whole area which surrounds the Wash is a wild life haven, especially for marsh harriers, oyster catchers and various species of geese, with the area regularly seeing around two million visiting wading birds every year. The area is also a breeding ground for several species of shellfish and the Common Seal.

There is only one lighthouses situated on The Wash, at North Beach, Old Hunstanton in Norfolk. This Grade II listed building was built in 1840 and was converted into a holiday home in 1997.

There is a permanent light ship situated at Admiralty Point which is located at the mouth of the Lynn Channel, also situated in Norfolk.

SOME WASH WEBSITES

Tours - www.tournorfolk.co.uk

Norfolk - www.visitnorfolk.co.uk

Tourist Information - www.norfolktouristinformation.com

The Wash - www.washfens-rdpe.co.uk

Lincolnshire - www.lincolnshiretouristguide.com

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