River Blyth, Suffolk

The River Blyth.

The River Blyth is a partially navigable river in Suffolk, with a tidal estuary on the North Sea coast between Southwold and Walberswick.

The river's source is near Laxfield.

Estuary

The estuary mouth forms the main harbour area of Southwold and is still an active fishing harbour. The estuary is central to the plot of Peter Greenaway's film Drowning by Numbers, being the scene of the final drowning.

Navigation

The Blyth Navigation canal was opened in 1761 running 7 miles from Halesworth to the Blyth estuary. It was insolvent by 1884, partly due to attempts to reclaim saltings at Blythburgh, which resulted in the estuary silting up. It was used sporadically until 1911, and was not formally abandoned until 1934.