Lancashire's main river, the River Ribble is 75 miles long flowing from its source near Ribblehead in the Yorkshire Dales via the Ribble Valley to its mouth, known as the Ribble Estuary, at the Irish Sea at Lytham. Several of Lancashire's other rivers are tributaries of the Ribble including the River Hodder and the River Calder which join the Ribble at Great Mitton, the River Darwen which joins the Ribble at Walton-le-Dale and the River Douglas which joins the Ribble at Hesketh Bank.
Due to its length and the tributaries that flow into the Ribble, the river is unsurprisingly one of the county's most important wildlife habitats. The upland areas of the Ribble have high water quality which supports a high fish population making fishing a popular activity in the area. The high water quality is still evident at the Ribble Valley where Otters have been spotted on the River Hodder which itself is an indication that the endangered Atlantic Salmon swim in the Ribble and its tributaries.
The Ribble Estuary is 10 miles wide making it the seventh largest estuary in Britain. Its also one of the most important wetland areas in the country being home to nearly a quarter of a million birds in the winter and millions of other small animals who use it as a breeding ground.
The Ribble and its tributaries also support a wide range of wildlife from varied habitats close to the river from farmland and woodland to mossland and urban areas so much of Lancashire's wildlife depends on the Ribble for their livelihoods so its important that we protect it from pollution by litter, agricultural run-off and pollutants that we shouldn't be pouring down our drains.
Fortunately, we have a few local charities protecting the Ribble and its tributaries, primarily the Ribble Rivers Trust. The trust's activities include assessing the water quality, improving the passage of fish along the river, creating wetland and woodland areas around the river, peat moorland restoration and improving access to visitors. Of course, we also have the local litter picking groups in the Ribble catchment area who stop litter going into the rivers.
You can explore almost the entire length of the Ribble thanks to the Ribble Way which is a pedestrianised route from the source of the Ribble at Ribblehead to Longton on the Ribble Estuary. The route passes through a wide variety of landscapes from moorland, valleys and forests in the East to tidal marshes and mossland in the West.
