Gloucestershire is a 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 to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The city of Gloucester is the largest settlement and the county town.
The River Severn, at 220 miles (354 km) 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 107 m3/s (3,800 cu ft/s) at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in the Cambrian Mountains in mid Wales, at an altitude of 2,001 feet (610 m), on the Plynlimon massif, which lies close to the Ceredigion/Powys border near Llanidloes. The river then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. The county towns of Shrewsbury, Gloucester and Worcester lie on its course.
The Severn bore is a tidal bore seen on the tidal reaches of the River Severn in south western England. It is formed when the rising tide moves into the funnel-shaped Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary and the surging water forces its way upstream in a series of waves, as far as Gloucester and beyond. The bore behaves differently in different stretches of the river; in the lower, wider parts it is more noticeable in the deep channels as a slight roller, while the water creeps across the sand and mudflats. In the narrower, upper reaches, the river occupies the whole area between its banks and the bore advances in a series of waves that move upstream. Near Gloucester, the advancing water overcomes two weirs, and sometimes one in Tewkesbury, before finally petering out.
The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal is a ship canal in the west of England, between Gloucester and Sharpness; for much of its length it runs close to the tidal River Severn, but cuts off a significant loop in the river, at a once-dangerous bend near Arlingham. It was once the broadest and deepest canal in the world. The canal is 26.5 km long.
Tewkesbury is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and thus became an important trading point, which continued as railways and, later, the M5 and M50 motorway connections were established. The town gives its name to the Borough of Tewkesbury, a local government district of Gloucestershire. The town lies on the border with Worcestershire, marked largely by the Carrant Brook.
The Severn Railway Bridge was a bridge carrying the railway across the River Severn between Sharpness and Lydney in Gloucestershire, England. It was built in the 1870s by the Severn Bridge Railway Company, primarily to carry coal from the Forest of Dean to the docks at Sharpness; it was the furthest-downstream bridge over the Severn until the opening of the Severn road bridge in 1966. When the company got into financial difficulties in 1893, it was taken over jointly by the Great Western Railway and the Midland Railway companies. The bridge continued to be used for freight and passenger services until 1960, and saw temporary extra traffic on the occasions that the Severn Tunnel was closed for engineering work.
Frampton on Severn is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. The population is 1,432.
The Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its very high tidal range, approximately 50 feet (15 m), creates valuable intertidal habitats and has led to the area being at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable tidal energy.
The River Frome, once also known as the Stroudwater, is a small river in Gloucestershire, England. It is to be distinguished from another River Frome in Gloucestershire, the Bristol Frome, and the nearby River Frome, Herefordshire. The river is approximately 25 miles (40 km) long.
The River Cam is a small river in Gloucestershire, England. It flows for 12 miles (20 km) north-westwards from the Cotswold Edge, across the Vale of Berkeley, into the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.
Coombe Hill Canal lies in the Vale of Gloucester, south west England, north of Leigh and runs west 2.75 miles (4.43 km) from Coombe Hill Basin to the River Severn near Wainlode Hill. It opened in 1796 and closed 80 years later in 1876, after the only lock was damaged by flooding. The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust purchased the Coombe Hill Canal nature reserve in 1985 and the area is managed by the trust. Adjacent to the Coombe Hill Canal is a large area of wet meadowland situated midway between Gloucester and Tewkesbury to the west of the A38, which was purchased by the trust in 1999. There is a north and a south meadow. This land and the Canal itself often flood in winter, which attracts hundreds of wildfowl.
Arlingham is a village and civil parish in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire, England. The 2021 Census recorded a parish population of 533. The parish contains the hamlets of Milton End, Overton and Priding. The next parish to the east is Fretherne with Saul.
Thames Head is a group of seasonal springs that arise near the village of Coates in the Cotswolds, about three miles south-west of the town of Cirencester, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The spring water comes from the limestone aquifers of the Cotswolds. One or more of these springs are traditionally identified as the source of the River Thames.
Alney Island is an island in the River Severn near Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. The Severn splits into two channels at Upper Parting, and merges again at Lower Parting to the south. The island is a strip of land in between the two channels, about 2.1 miles (3.4 km) long and 0.74 miles (1.19 km) at its widest. It is a local Nature Reserve.
A series of large floods occurred in parts of the United Kingdom during the summer of 2007. The worst of the flooding occurred across Scotland on 14 June; East Yorkshire and the Midlands on 15 June; Yorkshire, the Midlands, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire on 25 June; and Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and South Wales on 28 July 2007.
Dowdeswell Reservoir and former water treatment works lie below the parish of Dowdeswell in Gloucestershire. They were originally built by Cheltenham Corporation to supply the town of Cheltenham with drinking water and subsequently became part of the Severn Trent network.
The River Leadon is a river in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, England, a tributary of the River Severn. It rises just south of the village of Acton Beauchamp, and flows south past Bosbury to the town of Ledbury, which takes its name from the river. It then flows south and east past Dymock, Upleadon and Highleadon to join the Severn at Over, just west of Gloucester. The river is approximately 32 miles (51 km) long.
Meadow Park is a football stadium in Hempsted, Gloucester. It has been home to Gloucester City A.F.C. from 1986 to 2007. It was destroyed by flooding in 2007 and was rebuilt, with the first game being held in September 2020.
The Severn-Wye Cable Tunnel, also known as the Severn Cable Tunnel, carries high-voltage electricity transmission lines beneath the estuaries of the River Severn and River Wye between Newhouse (Mathern), Monmouthshire and Aust, South Gloucestershire.
The town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England has historically been affected by flooding of the River Severn. The Frankwell area, has been particularly affected, but flood defence measures have largely been effective in the area.
