River Biss
| River Biss | |
| River | |
 The River Biss flowing under the town bridge in Trowbridge
|
|
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | Wiltshire |
| Source | |
| - location | near Upton Scudamore, Wiltshire |
| - coordinates | 51°13′42″N 2°11′40″W / 51.22833°N 2.19444°W |
| Mouth | |
| - location | Staverton, Wiltshire |
| - coordinates | 51°20′12″N 2°12′56″W / 51.33667°N 2.21556°WCoordinates: 51°20′12″N 2°12′56″W / 51.33667°N 2.21556°W |
| Length | 18.385 km (11 mi) |
The River Biss is a small river in Wiltshire, England and is a tributary of the Bristol Avon. The name is of uncertain origin; it is claimed that the word is from the Old Norse bisa, meaning "to strive".
The river rises near Upton Scudamore on the western side of Salisbury Plain, at Biss Bottom, as the Biss Brook, and flows northwards passing Westbury towards Trowbridge. As it reaches Yarnbrook the brook becomes the River Biss.
The Baptist church at North Bradley lies close to the River Biss and in the 19th century river baptisms took place with over 2000 in attendance; the bridge here is still called 'The Baptising'.
The river enters the centre of Trowbridge from the south-east through the Biss Meadows Country Park. For a semi-urban location, the country park has a very rich variety of wildlife and includes areas of three UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitats ). Here the country park acts as an important flood plain as well as an amenity space. Passing through Biss Meadows it skirts round a pond (renovated in 2012 by the Friends), passes over a weir, skirts around the Tesco Extra car park (in 1993 the river was diverted here) and then flows under the County Way dual carriageway.
It then flows through the Town Park, where a small constituent lake is haunt to wildfowl, before passing behind shops and industrial buildings in a Riverside Walk which was opened in 1993 by the Duke of Edinburgh. The walk is now largely an overgrown tarmac path for which improvements have been suggested. Before leaving the centre of Trowbridge, the Biss flows under the Town Bridge in roughly the location of the original river crossing which gives the town its name; in this area the river is home to the yellow water lily known as "Brandy Bottle" after the shape of its fruit and its characteristic scent.
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Wikipedia