River Crouch

The River Crouch flows entirely through the county of Essex and enters the North Sea in a broad, long estuary. The Crouch is navigable from Holliwell Point (north of Foulness Island) as far up as Battlesbridge, which 17.5 miles or 15.21 nautical miles.

Course

The Crouch rises in Little Burstead in Essex and thence runs parallel with the A176 Noak Hill Road for approximately 1.3 miles, and then follows a generally easterly course, passing by, near or through:

Crays Hill
Ramsden Bellhouse
The centre of Wickford, where it flows along a concrete culvert
Runwell
Battlesbridge (the head of the 17½ mile 'River Crouch Navigation')
North of Hullbridge and south of South Woodham Ferrers
Between North Fambridge and South Fambridge
Althorne
Creeksea
Burnham-on-Crouch

The river flows into the North Sea between Holliwell Point (TR026963) and Foulness Point (TR048954) on its north and south banks respectively.^[1]

A major tributary of the River Crouch is the River Roach.

The River Crouch Conservation Trust

The River Crouch Conservation Trust was set up in July 2009 by a group of concerned local people, mainly fisherman, after a stretch of the river around Memorial Park, Wickford was badly polluted. Its aim is to clear the river of rubbish and to bring the river back to a quality which will benefit all forms of wildlife, from water voles, fish to invertebrates and for the benefit of the public.^[2]

The Crouch Harbour Authority

The Crouch Harbour Authority is the statutory harbour and navigation authority for the Rivers Crouch and Roach, controlling both pleasure and commercial use of the rivers. The authority passes bylaws that regulate use of the river and employ staff that enforce the bylaws. They also provide weather forecasts, tide tables and other important sailing information.

The Harbourmaster's Office is on the Quay at Burnham on Crouch.