River Ouse, Sussex

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The River Ouse is a river in the county of West and East Sussex in England. It rises near Lower Beeding, passes through Lewes and the South Downs and joins the English Channel at Newhaven, East Sussex.

Unlike the other British rivers called the Ouse, whose name comes from a Scandinavian root cognate with "oose", its name may come from a corruption of the French "Rivière de Lewes". The river was originally known as the River Mid-wynd.

The author Virginia Woolf drowned herself in the River Ouse in 1941, near the village of Rodmell.

There is at present a lot of research into the presence and effects of organic and inorganic pollutants in the Sussex Ouse. The nature of the river is that sediment in high-flow areas is absent, with the exception of the Denton Island area. In 2001 the river flooded, placing areas of the river towns Lewes and Uckfield under water.

The river is known for the unusually large Sea Trout that migrate up the river twice a year to spawn. The river also contains large Pike (up to 30lbs) and more recently large Carp. Other species include Barbel, Roach, Dace, Rudd, Minnow, Perch, Chub, Pumpkinseed and Tench. The tidal stretches also contain Mullet and near the mouth, Bass

In the summer every year is held the Ouse Summer Raft Race, in which competitors construct their own rafts and paddle down the river, from Lewes to Newhaven. At Southease, the rafters are pelted by crowds on the bridge and riverbank with eggs, flour, seaweed, and water.

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