Being Notts born and bred, I’ve had a lifelong fascination with the River Trent. I’ve enjoyed childhood fishing sessions on Trent Embankment steps, taken a scenic boat trip from Farndon, and nervously navigated its confluence with the River Derwent in an old, underpowered, cabin cruiser. More recently, I’ve canoed from the Trent up the lower reaches of its tributary, the Dove, and taken summer dips at Farndon. I’ve also enjoyed countless walks along the river at places such as Gunthorpe, Fiskerton, and Newark.
I’ve long marvelled at the Trent’s stately power as it meanders through the county and avidly read about its influence on our heritage and culture — whether its role as the ancient boundary between the North and South of England (I’m delighted to live on the side of Trent Bridge that qualifies me as a northerner!), discovering that the legendary tide King Canute was trying to turn back was the Aegir — the Trent’s tidal bore — or that The Meadows area of Nottingham is so called because it was once covered in swathes of bright purple-blue crocuses brought to England eight centuries ago by Cluniac monks.
In the 17th century, Izaak Walton, possibly the most revered angling writer of all time, described the River Trent as “one of the finest rivers in the world and the most abounding with excellent salmon and all sorts of delicate fish.” Yet in the centuries that followed, the Trent suffered more than most due to its central role in the Industrial Revolution. It became a vital source of water, power, and transport — and a de facto sewer for the growing towns and cities along its banks with vast quantities of sewage and polluted water from factories flowing into it.
The number of salmon caught in the Trent plummeted from around 3,000 per year in the 1880s to just six fish by 1960 — a devastating decline driven in part by unprecedented pollution levels. Even its tributaries, including the Erewash, were competing for the unenviable title of England’s most polluted river. The 1960s also brought rising demand for cooling water for what became the largest concentration of coal‑fired power stations in Europe. The murky soup that replaced the Trent’s once pristine waters was not only polluted but increasingly warm.
Eventually, society recognised that our waterways could no longer be abused or ignored, and efforts to clean them up began in earnest in the second half of the 20th century. As water quality gradually improved, nature also reclaimed many redundant sand and gravel quarries in the Trent Valley — with support from groups such as us, the RSPB, and local volunteers. Sites like Attenborough Nature Reserve are now long established, and later this year we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its opening by none other than Sir David Attenborough. Partners including the Environment Agency and Trent Rivers Trust have also made great strides in restoring salmon populations in the Trent and its tributaries through reintroductions and major infrastructure such as the huge new fish pass at Colwick, to help more fish reach their spawning grounds.
More recently, we've been working with a range of partners including Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Canal & River Trust and local farmers to create new wildlife wetland habitats along the Trent to benefit species including otter, salmon, bittern and lapwing, through our Species Thriving in a Wilder Trent project, thanks to funding from the Species Survival Fund, which is managed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund on behalf of Defra, and match funding by Severn Trent Water.
Despite these glimmers of positivity, society has largely continued to take rivers for granted. That’s why Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is delighted to be part of the new Rivers 2040 initiative, working alongside The Wildlife Trusts, Trent Rivers Trust and RSA Insurance, an Intact company. The project will map the Trent and study the economic, environmental and social benefits of restoring nature along its course, enabling partners to develop a transformational vision for the river’s future — the first time such a plan has been produced for a whole river system on this scale. We hope this will become a blueprint for river restoration across England.
After centuries of abuse, and at a time when our relationship with the Trent is characterised by flooding, pollution, drought and limited access to nature, we are determined to seize the opportunity presented by the closure of power stations and gravel pits, changes in farming and a post‑industrial future for the communities living along the river.
For further details about Rivers 2040, visit: www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/news
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
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www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org
Calling Otter Spotters!
Otter sightings at a popular nature reserve highlight misunderstandings about the role of predators in nature.
In my lifetime, otters became extinct on the Trent — only to return thanks to a concerted collaboration between water companies, Wildlife Trusts and the Environment Agency to clean up the river and its wider catchments, and to create quiet havens along its banks.
Over the past eighteen months, otter sightings at our Attenborough Nature Reserve, south of Nottingham, have become more frequent. We recently shared a couple of video clips captured by local naturalists, and the footage generated huge interest. While most people were excited and positive, others reacted negatively — even angrily. Some ‘anti’ voices may have previous experience of otters taking fish from commercial fisheries, but many concerns were rooted in misunderstandings about the predator–prey relationship.
There were genuine worries that otters would harm other wildlife populations. However, while otters eat fish and occasionally birds, eggs, frogs and crustaceans, their presence is a sign of a healthy environment — not a threat. Back in the 1970s, when otters disappeared from many areas, large sections of the Trent were so polluted that no life could survive. With a diet made up of around 80% fish, the river had become unviable for otters. As water quality slowly recovered and fish populations returned, otters were able to return too.
Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but long absences in nature often lead to misunderstanding. When cormorants became common on inland waters, similar concerns were raised — yet predator numbers naturally regulate in line with prey availability.
Otters have large territories, typically covering 20–30km of riverbank, and males won’t share their feeding grounds. When fish are scarce, otters will take alternative prey, but this usually poses no threat to populations. Like cormorants, otters can cause issues at commercial fisheries, but there are measures owners can take to reduce impacts. Challenges on artificially stocked waters shouldn’t stand in the way of the continued recovery of a native species.
The return of otters is a clear sign that our river ecosystems are improving — though there is still a long way to go. A cleaner, more natural River Trent, better connected to its floodplain, will support otters and many other species. As natural food becomes more abundant, potential conflicts with commercial fisheries should diminish.
Images:
The River Trent, courtesy Neil France.
Leaping salmon, courtesy Jack Perks.
With the closure of all coal-fired power stations and restoration of former quarries, the Trent Valley is rapidly changing, courtesy Neil France.
Dog otter holding a crayfish in Clifton Pond, courtesy Gary Barber.
River Trent at Farndon Willow Holt, courtesy Kath Fox.
Numbers of predators and prey naturally finds a balance - Great Crested Grebe eating a fish at Attenborough, courtesy Malcolm Heaven.
Otter, courtesy Amy Lewis.
A Cormorant in flight, courtesy Mike Vickers.
