The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain at a length of 220 miles (354 km), and the second longest in the British Isles after the River Shannon in Ireland. It rises at an altitude of 2,001 feet (610 m) on Plynlimon, close to the Ceredigion/Powys border near Llanidloes, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales. It then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, with the county towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester and Gloucester on its banks. With an average discharge of 107 m3/s (3,800 cu ft/s) at Apperley, Gloucestershire, the Severn is by far the greatest river in terms of water flow in England and Wales.
Lydney is a small town and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is on the west bank of the River Severn, in the Forest of Dean and is 16 miles southwest of Gloucester as the crow flies. The town has been bypassed since 1995 by the A48 road. The population was about 8,960 in the 2001 census, reducing to 8,766 at the 2011 census.
The A48 is a major trunk road in Great Britain. It runs from the A40 at Highnam, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Gloucester, to the A40 at Carmarthen. Before the construction of the first Severn Bridge, in 1966, it was the principal route between South Wales and South West England. For most of its journey through South Wales, it runs almost parallel to its successor. Before the construction of the Second Severn Crossing, during times of high winds at the Severn Bridge the A48 was used as part of the diversion route, and is still marked as a Holiday Route.
Oldbury-on-Severn is a small village near the mouth of the River Severn in South Gloucestershire. The village population at the 2011 census was 780. It is home to the nearby Oldbury nuclear power station, a Magnox power station which opened in 1967 and ceased operation on 29 February 2012.
Forest of Dean is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England, named after the Forest of Dean. Its council is based in Coleford. Other towns and villages in the district include Blakeney, Cinderford, Drybrook, English Bicknor, Huntley, Littledean, Longhope, Lea, Lydbrook, Lydney, Mitcheldean, Newnham and Newent
The Dean Forest Railway is a 4 1⁄4-mile (6.8 km) long heritage railway that runs between Lydney and Parkend in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
May Hill is a prominent hill between Gloucester and Ross-on-Wye. Its summit is on the western edge of Gloucestershire and its northern slopes in Herefordshire. The hill is readily distinguishable by a clump of trees on its summit, which forms an official Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is reached by three public footpaths, two forming parts of the Gloucestershire Way and Wysis Way.
Ruardean Hill is prominent hill and a village in the English county of Gloucestershire, 20 km (12 mi) west of Gloucester. It lies in the Forest of Dean, in the parish of Drybrook.
Lydney Junction railway station is a railway station near Lydney in Gloucestershire. The station is now the southern terminus of the Dean Forest Railway. It is located to the south of Lydney, near the A48 road.
Westbury-on-Severn is a rural village in England that is the centre of the large, rural parish, also called Westbury-on-Severn.
Soudley is a small village to the west of Cinderford, in the Forest of Dean, west Gloucestershire, England.It joins with Ruspidge to form a civil parish.
Coaley Peak is a picnic site and viewpoint in the English county of Gloucestershire.
Gloucestershire is one of the most geologically and scenically diverse counties in England, with rocks from the Precambrian through to the Jurassic represented. These varying rock-types are responsible for the three major areas of the county, each with its own distinctive scenery and land-use - the Forest of Dean in the west, bordering Wales, the Cotswolds in the east, and in between, the Severn Vale.
Coleford Great Western Railway Museum is a railway museum located in Coleford, Gloucestershire, England. The museum was founded in 1988. Based in the former GWR Goods Shed along the Coleford Railway. There was also another station situated at Coleford, it was opened by the Severn and Wye Railway. The Museum traces the history of all the railways in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire from the early 19th century when the first plateways were laid, to the 1970s when the Dean Forest Railway was founded. The Museum has information about the Wye Valley Railway, Severn & Wye Railway and Monmouth Troy railway station.
The Bullo Pill Railway was an early British railway, completed in 1810 to carry coal mined in the Forest of Dean Coalfield to a port on the River Severn near Newnham, Gloucestershire. It was later converted to a broad gauge steam line by the Great Western Railway, and was closed in the 1960s.
The Bicslade Tramroad was a wagonway built by the Severn and Wye Railway (S&WR) in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. The first section of the line was opened in 1812 as a branch of the S&WR plateway from Lydney to Lydbrook, which had opened in 1810. It was expanded over time to serve the collieries and quarries in the Bixslade valley ; the last stretch, to Bixhead Quarry, opened in 1855. Stone traffic ceased in 1944 and coal followed in 1946.
A gook was a piece of protective headgear worn by bal maidens. The gook was a bonnet which covered the head and projected forward over the face, to protect the wearer's head and face from sunlight and flying debris. Bal maidens often worked outdoors or in very crude surface-level shelters, and the gook also gave protection from extreme weather conditions. By covering the ears, gooks protected the ears from the noisy industrial environment.
