[3] The river rises in the Forest of Bowland in central Lancashire, as two distinct tributaries—the Tarnbrook Wyre and the Marshaw Wyre—whose confluence is near the village of Abbeystead.

In 1984, a pumping station, built just below the confluence as part of a water transfer scheme in the 1980s, saw the Abbeystead disaster, an explosion in which 16 people were killed and a further 22 were injured.

Major industry existed at the former ICI Hillhouse site at Burn Naze, close to the estuary of the river.

The area around Burn Naze on the western side of the Wyre Estuary was formerly known as Bergerode, believed to be an Old English term for "shallow harbour", beor grade.

[5] From Skippool, just downstream of Shard Bridge, to Fleetwood, the banks of the river form the Wyre Estuary Country Park.

With the decline in the size of the fleet, most of the dock complex has subsequently been converted to a marina and the adjacent Affinity Lancashire outdoor shopping centre.