Talk:River Avon, Bristol

Naming

I think this page should be moved, as the river, although it flows for a while through the ceremonial county of Somerset and forms its border for longer, does not flow through the present administrative Somerset at all, which could lead to a certain amount of confusion. River Avon (Bristol) is a possible alternative, though as a Bristolian I may be biased in that respect. See Talk:River Avon.

I have now moved this page from River Avon, Somerset to River Avon, Bristol. This name incorporates the most familiar name of the river (River Avon) and a reference to its alternative name, the Bristol Avon. It should not be taken to mean that the river is wholly or even mostly in Bristol.

The mouth of the river is in the county of Bristol, so it makes sense naming it thus --Steinsky 13:16, 26 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Volume

What is the volume of this river? Anwar (talk) 15:43, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Order of course & navigation sections

I am slightly confused by the order and arrangement in this article. The course section follows the flow of the river from its source to the suspension bridge and then we have the navigation section which goes from Avonmouth back up towards Bath. Would there be any objection to reorganising this so that the flow of the river is followed?— Rod ^talk 21:02, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

Agreed, I was going to look at this next week, when I have finished off a few of tributaries. Large parts of the course are missed out and the artcile could benefit from re-organising in line with the principles of WP Rivers. Jezhotwells (talk) 21:33, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

OK I've made a start but there is still plenty for you (and willing others) to do.— Rod ^talk 22:46, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

"Millstone Grit"

Why the caps for this common noun, please? It's just been reverted, so I'm probably missing something here. --Old Moonraker (talk) 13:15, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

I think you need to ask that at Talk:Millstone Grit or better still the relevant wikiproject e.g. Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Rocks and minerals. If you look at Category:Stratigraphy of the United Kingdom and Category:Sedimentary rocks you will see that quite a few rocks have capitalised names. --Simple Bob (talk) 13:27, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the prompt response. I see in Millstone Grit that there's "Millstone Grit Group", a topographical term that seems to have lent its capitalization to the article title, but here, where it's just the plain old stuff, it doesn't seem to apply so obviously. --Old Moonraker (talk) 13:35, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

Dividing in two?

According to the lede, it splits in two somewhere, then merges again.

Is that right? I can't see any evidence on Google Maps. I'm wondering if someone misunderstood the confluence of the Tetbury Avon, assuming it's the same river higher up? Rojomoke (talk) 13:21, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

I've removed this uncited claim. If anyone can source it then it can always be put back.— Rod ^talk 20:49, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

This claim arose perhaps from the fact that two branches of the Avon meet at Malmesbury - both tributaries being referred to as 'Avon', in different guises - thogh their sources are entirely separate. However, many miles downstream, the (combined) River Avon does split for a quarter mile, in the vicinity of Claverton, east of Bath (OS grid ref ST 792643). cheers Geopersona (talk) 19:41, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

Waterway template

I would like to request a waterway template be made, much like the River Parrett one here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:River_Parrett_map

I don't have the skill to make it myself but I'm certain it would be an asset to the Bristol Avon page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by user:Inthemicz (talk • contribs) 18:34, 28 November 2012‎ (UTC)

• Well that was mostly/mainly the work of Bob1960evens. He may well be willing to help. Pyrotec (talk) 20:43, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

I'll be happy to produce a routemap. Bob1960evens (talk) 20:53, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

A real "Hero". Pyrotec (talk) 21:01, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

I have made a start at Template:River Avon Bristol map. I was intending to go as far as Malmesbury, where it splits into the Tetbury and Sherston Branches. It is getting a bit long though. I could make some of it collapsible if that would help. Any suggestions gratefully received. Bob1960evens (talk) 22:48, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

Extended to Malmesbury. Some labels need expanding. Bob1960evens (talk) 08:16, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Hanham Lock - tidal limit?

The high tide comes over the weir at Hanham and Keynsham - Saltford is the tidal limit, hence the name (cf Freshford) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jongbray (talk • contribs) 11:39, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

What else is needed before a GA nomination?

What else do people think would be needed before this article would meet the good article criteria?— Rod ^talk 17:31, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:River Avon (Bristol)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Looking forward to reviewing this article. Llywrch (talk · contribs) 22:02, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Comments

I found this clear & well written, & covers everything that one would expect to find here. (As a datum, I walked along the Avon in 1984, from Bath upstream through the Avon Gorge to Bradford-on-Avon, & every item of interest I could remember is covered in this article.) There are a few points, though, worth mentioning:

• In the section "Etymology", there is a footnote that cites a page on the website archeology.ws. That page is a collection of alternative etymologies of various ancient British place names which (IMHO) feels fringey & doesn't help support the point that "Avon" is a common place name in Britain. I suggest you remove it.

• Removed.— Rod ^talk 07:12, 30 June 2015 (UTC)
  • OK. -- llywrch (talk) 22:46, 30 June 2015 (UTC)

• Bradford is described as a former center of the wool industry? Are there any existing mill structures along the river? (I ask because I vaguely remember that woolen mills often used water power to drive their machinery.) If there are any, I don't remember seeing them back when I was in the area, but my attention was on confirming evidence of older habitation.

• I am not aware of any. The article on Bradford on Avon says "The last local mill closed in 1905. Many have since stood empty and some became derelict."— Rod ^talk 07:12, 30 June 2015 (UTC)
  • That's good enough. -- llywrch (talk) 22:46, 30 June 2015 (UTC)

• All rivers flood, some more often than others. (For example, the Willamette, which flows thru my home city, floods about once a generation; I was here to witness its 1964 & 1996 floods.) A list of recorded major floods in the "History" section is something readers would understandably expect to find here. In the article there is a passing reference to a flood of 1799/1800 damaging Pulteney Bridge; I did a quick search on Google & the only other flood on record was the one in 2014. (I don't know just how serious that flood was.) A short paragraph mentioning the 1799/1800 one & its effects on the inhabitants would meet this need.

• I will do some more searching on this later. The 2014 one which comes up on the google search was largely tidal, so only affected the Bristol end but the whole area was affected by severe flooding (see Winter flooding of 2013–14 on the Somerset Levels). Bath says "The floodplain of the Avon, on which the city centre is built, has an altitude of about 59 ft (18 m) above sea level. The river, once an unnavigable series of braided streams broken up by swamps and ponds, has been managed by weirs into a single channel. Periodic flooding, which shortened the life of many buildings in the lowest part of the city, was normal until major flood control works were completed in the 1970s." I will do more searching later.— Rod ^talk 07:12, 30 June 2015 (UTC)
  • Uh, does this mean you're going to make the change, or you want some time to research it first? (As I said, just mentioning the 1799/1800 flood in the "History" section ought to be enough by itself -- unless you know of some other major/historic floods.) -- llywrch (talk) 22:46, 30 June 2015 (UTC)

• Give me a day or two to check for any others and probably mention of the 2014 floods in Bristol and I will add anything I find & let you know here.— Rod ^talk 06:28, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

• I've now added the bits mentioned above and some wider bits on the flood risk and management on the river.— Rod ^talk 20:54, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

• Good additions, but what I was hoping to see was a paragraph added to the "History" section reading along the lines of: "The Avon has flooded several times in its recorded history. These floods include the one in 1799/1800 damaging Pulteney Bridge." Yes, this paragraph does repeat information provided above, but for odd readers like me who sometimes can't find information that is in the article because it's not where I expect to find it. (Note: I am not suggesting you move it from that part of the article to the "History" section, but to repeat it in that section.) -- llywrch (talk) 07:25, 9 July 2015 (UTC)

• I've moved some bits around to create a final paragraph of history abut flooding - is this what you meant?— Rod ^talk 20:43, 9 July 2015 (UTC)

• Good. Passing. Thank you for putting up with the peculiarities of my review process. -- llywrch (talk) 01:55, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

Other than those three concerns, I think this is a solid article worthy of GA status. -- llywrch (talk) 21:05, 29 June 2015 (UTC)

Move

Move River Avon, Bristol to River Avon as it is the overwhelmingly primary usage. 2A02:C7F:31CF:6400:4D65:7B99:AD72:5BC6 (talk) 18:09, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

Just not true - I had cause to search 'River Avon' earlier and the Stratford Avon came up equally often (and is arguably more well-known through the bard's connections). Geopersona (talk) 11:10, 1 December 2021 (UTC)