The bend in the river at Morton, at the end of this walk, is one of the most popular locations for onlookers. Like the Severn Bore, when a large Aegir is predicted sizeable crowds can turn up to watch the spectacle, including surfers and canoeists hoping to ride its rushing (if modest) wave. However, when a really high spring tide combines with a strong following wind and low freshwater levels the effect of this unusual natural phenomenon can be quite dramatic.įorecasts of when the Aegir is likely to occur are available on the internet and from local information points.

Recent dredging has also reduced its force, as it tends to gain momentum the shallower the river becomes. The Aegir doesn’t tend to travel much beyond Gainsborough as the tight meanders lessen its impact and weirs further upstream stop it entirely. Sometimes this merely causes the flow of the river to change, but when a high spring tide occurs it creates a wave or bore that can, in exceptional circumstances, reach up to 13ft (3.9m) high and rushes upstream through Morton and Gainsborough. It’s formed as the tide rushes in from the river’s mouth on the Humber and funnels the water through the narrowing channel. Like its more famous counterpart on the River Severn, the tidal Trent gives rise to a naturally occurring wave called the Aegir, which periodically surges up the river against the tidal flow. However, there is another reason why this lower stretch of the Trent is so well known. As it flows north from Newark across north Nottinghamshire and into Lincolnshire the river is tidal and indeed the town of Gainsborough has sometimes been referred to as Britain's most inland port.

The River Trent is one of Britain’s foremost rivers, for centuries a key trading and transport route that linked the East Midlands with Yorkshire and the Humber.

Tidal bore farm market