15 Facts About Severn

An alternative theory which has gained favour in recent years does away with Lake Lapworth, suggesting that the upper Severn flowed beneath the icesheet in a bedrock hollow known as the Severn Trench eastwards from Melverley to the Ironbridge Gorge.

River Worfe joins the Severn's left bank just above Bridgnorth, before the Mor, Borle and Dowles brooks join on the opposite bank over the next few miles, the last-named draining Wyre Forest.

The rivers Swilgate and Chelt join the Severn's left bank, as do the Hatherley and Horsbere brooks, before it reaches Gloucester.

The final tributary before the Severn Bridge is the collection of streams which enter via Oldbury Pill.

Severn is bridged at many places, and many of these bridges are notable in their own right.

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Two major road bridges of the Severn crossing link south eastern Wales with the southern counties of England.

Severn Tunnel, completed in 1886 by John Hawkshaw on behalf of the Great Western Railway, lies near the Second Severn Crossing road bridge, and carries the South Wales Main Line section of the Great Western Main Line under the channel.

The original line built before the Severn Tunnel was the South Wales Railway from Gloucester, that followed the estuary alongside present day stations of Lydney, Chepstow, Caldicot and Severn Tunnel Junction to Newport.

One of the Aust ferries, Severn Princess, is still in Chepstow although largely derelict.

Severn Estuary extends to a line from Lavernock Point to Sand Point near Weston-super-Mare.

Phenomenon associated with the lower reaches of the Severn is the tidal bore, which forms upstream of the port of Sharpness.

However a tidal range greater than that of the Severn is recorded from the lesser known Ungava Bay in Canada.

The gorge and the village of Ironbridge get their name from the Iron Bridge across the Severn, built in 1779, which was the first cast-iron arch bridge ever constructed.

Severn was the inspiration for a number of works by Gloucestershire composer Ivor Gurney, including the songs "Western Sailors" and "Severn Meadows".

Severn is often mentioned in Ellis Peters' The Cadfael Chronicles, set in or around Shrewsbury Abbey, beside the river.