The River Hiz is a small () tributary river in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

that feeds the River Ivel that, in turn, feeds the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the W ...

. Starting at its source of a chalk fed spring just south of the village of Charlton, the river winds its way through the county of

, moving its way into and through Hitchin, where it meets the River Oughton and

River Purwell The River Purwell is a chalk stream in Hertfordshire, England. The entire course of the stream is near Hitchin. Its source is springs which rise out of the chalk bedrock at St Ippolyts, forming Ippollitts Brook. It is known as the Purwell by t ...

. The Hiz finally meets the River Ivel near the village of Henlow. The Hicca Way, inaugurated in 2012, is a footpath which follows the course of the river. The Hiz is a focal point in the town of Hitchin, with a market that takes place historically by its banks. The Hiz also runs past the Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows nature reserve in Arlesey. Although small, the Hiz attracts a great deal of wildlife. There are many birds around this area, which include

swan Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Som ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

and kingfishers. Fish inhabit the river ( trout mainly) and there is also evidence of otters.

Toponymy

The z in Hiz is a Domesday-Book abbreviation for ts (or tch), and Hiz is properly pronounced "Hitch". This fact seems to be little known, and Hiz is now normally said as it is spelled. It may take its name from the Hicce tribe, who inhabited the area and gave their name to Hitchin. Ekwall says that Hiz/Hitch is a probably back-formation from Hitchin, which in turn is the dative plural of Hicce. Norden says the name is derived from a wood called Hitch, but Ekwall believes this is a conflation with ''Wychwood'', for which the Old English is ''Hwiccawudu''.

References

External links

* Rivers of Hertfordshire Rivers of Bedfordshire Hitchin {{England-river-stub