The Severn Valley is a rural area of the

West Midlands region The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level for Statistics, statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area known tradit ...

of England, through which the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

runs and the

Severn Valley Railway The Severn Valley Railway is a standard gauge, standard-gauge heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The single-track line runs from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, calling at four intermediate stations and three request stop ...

steam heritage line operates, starting at its northernmost point in

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the United Kingd ...

, Shropshire and running south for 16 miles (26 km) to Ribbesford, a few miles south of Bewdley, Worcestershire in the Wyre Forest. The area is about 25 miles (40 km) due west of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. There is also use of this term to apply to areas around the River Severn as far south as

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, and as far north as Ironbridge. To the north of

, the land to the sides of the river becomes much steeper, and the upstream part is known as Ironbridge Gorge. From Stourport-on-Severn south to

, the riverside has a much larger flood plain and loses its distinctive "valley" hillsides found a few miles north in Bewdley. To the south of

, it becomes the Vale of Berkeley and then the Severn Estuary.

History

The Severn Valley was under the rule of Ceawlin of Wessex after the Battle of Deorham in 577 AD as part of the Kingdom of Hwicce. In 628 AD, Penda of Mercia's victory in the Battle of Cirencester led to his rule over the Severn Valley.

Geology and roads

The area is typified by a substantial river bed with deep fast-flowing channels, surrounded by a small

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

and rolling wooded hills. Due to the soft

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

banks, it is difficult to build bridges that can bear heavy loads. The only public road bridges are at

and Bewdley, meaning that there is no way for road traffic to cross the river for 16 miles(26 km). The two main roads along the valley are the A442 on the east side from

via Alveley to

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

and the B4555 on the west from

via Highley to Bewdley. Both of these run north-south roughly parallel with the river.

Towns and villages

Starting north at

and running south downstream, the area encompasses the following locations: *Through

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

: :*

(both sides – two public road bridges) :* Quatford (east bank) :* Chelmarsh (west bank – also private waterworks bridge to Hampton Loade) :* Quatt (east bank) :* Hampton (west bank) and Hampton Loade (east bank) (connected by the Hampton Loade Ferry — also private waterworks utility bridge to Chelmarsh capable of carrying light trucks and small emergency vehicles; gated and usually locked) :* Alveley (east bank – public bridalway/footbridge to Highley) :* Highley (west bank – public bridalway/footbridge to Alveley) *Through

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

: :* Arley (both sides – public footbridge – also railway bridge for SVR) :* Trimpley (west bank – river enters Wyre Forest — also private waterworks, electricity and gas pipeline bridge) :* Bewdley (both sides – two public road bridges – severe flooding used to be common in spring before defences) Some definitions continue through

and into

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

as far south as

Features

There are riverside footpaths throughout almost the entire length of the Severn Valley on both sides, including the Severn Way long distance footpath, making it a popular haunt for anglers and ramblers, often combining a leisurely walk with a return trip on the

. A number of traditional pubs cater for the tourist trade. At the centre of the area, between Highley and Alveley, is the Severn Valley Country Park, with level-access and wide flat footpaths for

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

users, plus conveniences and a small visitors' centre. During periods of low water (typically August), fording the river is occasionally possible at almost any point along the Severn Valley, notably near the old bridges at

and Bewdley, and at the appropriately named Quatford. At mid and high water, fording is dangerous due to deep, fast-flowing and often non-visible river channels. Forders are advised to test depth with a long stick as they progress.

References

External links