River Wye

Here it is: the Wye part of Hay-on-Wye. I’ve made a lot of fuss about the town, but haven’t said anything about River Wye.

Well, its main feature is that it separates England and Wales. That Hay-on-Wye is situated on its bank it automatically made the town a popular war and military fortification target for centuries and centuries of English and Welsh warriors.

At 200 km, the river is the fifth longest in the U.K. Its source is the Welsh mountains at Plynlimon. Here at Hay-on-Wye, it runs through within Beacons National Park, near the Black Mountains.

The River Wye used to be best known for its large spring salmon, which spent up to three years at sea before returning to spawn. The salmon have pretty much disappeared over the last few decades, but the river is still popular for canoeing due to its slow motion.

Wye, river, Wales, Hay-on-Wye