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 and Gloucester and the City of Worcester lie on its course.
Worcester is a cathedral city in Worcestershire, England, of which it is the county town. It is 30 miles (48 km) south-west of Birmingham, 101 miles (163 km) north-west of London, 27 miles (43 km) north of Gloucester and 23 miles (37 km) north-east of Hereford. The population was 103,872 in the 2021 Census.
Upton-upon-Severn is a town and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Lying on the A4104, the 2011 census recorded a population of 2,881 for the town.
Aust is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Bristol and about 28 miles (45 km) south west of Gloucester. It is located on the eastern side of the Severn estuary, close to the eastern end of the Severn Bridge which carries the M48 motorway. The village has a chapel, a church and a public house. There is a large area of farmland on the river bank, which is sometimes flooded due to the high tidal range of the Severn. Aust Cliff, above the Severn, is located about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the village. The civil parish of Aust includes the villages of Elberton and Littleton-upon-Severn.
The Cotswold Line is an 86+1⁄2-mile (139.2 km) railway line between Oxford and Hereford in England.
Kempsey is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is bounded by the River Severn on the west, and the A38 main road runs through it and is about 3 miles (5 km) south of Worcester. The village has a long history. Its name is derived from the Saxon "Kemys' Eye", or the island of Kemys. Kemys was a Saxon chief, whose island lay between marshes and the River Severn. One of the roads in Kempsey, Lyf's Lane, is named after another Saxon chief. The village was recorded in the 11th century Domesday Book as having a value of £7.
Gheluvelt Park is a public park in Worcester, England, which opened on 17 June 1922 to commemorate the Worcestershire Regiment's 2nd Battalion after their part in Battle of Gheluvelt, a World War I battle that took place on 31 October 1914 in Gheluvelt, Belgium. It was opened by Field Marshal John French, 1st Earl of Ypres, who stated, "on that day the 2nd Worcesters saved the British Empire." A plaque inside the park commemorates Captain Gerald Ernest Lea, who died on 15 September 1914 while commanding D. Company of the 2nd Battalion.
Wilden is a small village about 1 mile north east of Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire.
Worcester Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in the city of Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Horse racing has taken place here since at least 1718. It staged Flat racing until 1966 but has since staged National Hunt racing only.
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.
Callow End is a constituent village of the civil parish of Powick in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. It is located on the B4424 road about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south of its junction with the main A449 Malvern to Worcester road. The River Severn runs down the eastern side of the village.
St John's is a suburb of Worcester, England, lying west of the city centre and the River Severn. St. John's is referred to locally as the "Village in the City", which is partly due to being an independent township, before joining the city in 1837. There is still a sense of identity within the community.
The Worcester and Hereford Railway started the construction of a standard gauge railway between the two cities in 1858. It had needed the financial assistance of larger concerns, chiefly the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, and the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway. It opened its line progressively from 1859 to 1861, delayed by exceptionally difficult tunnelling at Colwall and Ledbury. The company was purchased by the West Midland Railway in 1860, and that company amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1863.
Lower Wick is a suburb of Worcester situated to the south-west of the city. Lower Wick is located to the south of St. John's and to the west of the River Severn, adjacent to Powick. It is primarily composed of a 1960s housing estate made up of roads with a Canadian theme to their names, but there is a newer 1990s housing development where the roads are named after bird species.
Diglis is a suburb of Worcester, England. It is located around half a mile south of the city centre on the banks of the River Severn. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal starts in Diglis where it is connected to the Severn. Diglis Lock is a wide-beam lock allowing river craft access to Diglis Basin. Diglis Island is a sliver of land in the middle of the River Severn opposite the opening of The Worcester and Birmingham Canal, which has featured art displays and tours. Diglis House Hotel sits on the banks of the River Severn to the south of Worcester Cathedral. The area immediately next to the river is often affected by flooding such as in autumn 2000 and summer 2007. New apartments have been built in Diglis and there has been some investment in the waterfront areas which are popular with tourists. Diglis Bridge, a pedestrian and cycle bridge across the Severn, opened in 2010 linking Diglis and St Peter's with Lower Wick. In 2021, Princess Anne opened a fish viewing gallery at the Severn Bridge.
The Autumn of 2000 was the wettest recorded in the United Kingdom since records began in 1766. Several regions of Atlantic Europe from France to Norway received double their average rainfall and there were severe floods and landslides in the southern Alps. In October and November 2000 a successive series of extratropical cyclones caused severe flooding across the UK.
Between November 2019 and February 2020, severe winter flooding occurred across the United Kingdom. The first wave of flooding occurred in November 2019, mainly affecting Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands and the West Midlands. Further isolated flooding incidents were reported in December and January, before the second main wave of flooding, caused by Storms Ciara and Dennis, occurred in February 2020. The excessive rainfall resulted in the wettest February since records began, in 1766, in England and Wales with an average of 169.6 millimetres (6.68 in) falling across the regions, beating the record from 1833.
The Worcester Power Stations were a series of hydro-electric and coal-fired generating stations providing electricity to the City of Worcester.
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.
