The River Severn

The River Severn is the longest British river- at 354 kilometers long. It rises on the slopes of Plynlimon, in Wales, and passes through the Welsh towns of Llanidloes, Newtown and Welshpool before reaching Shrewsbury, the first English town on the river. Known as the 'King's high stream of Severn', meaning that it was free with no toll to be paid, the river was a principal trade route from medieval times. The Severn becomes the Bristol Channel at its estuary, eventually discharging in to the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Severn is England’s largest river in terms of water flow.

The Severn is bridged at many places, and many of these bridges are notable in their own right, with several designed and built by the engineer Thomas Telford.

Up to the second half of the 16th century, downstream cargoes included wool, hides and grain while luxury commodities such as wine and foreign goods were brought upriver from Bristol. …