The River Clun runs mostly through

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and joins the

River Teme The River Teme (pronounced ; cy, Afon Tefeidiad) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of B ...

Leintwardine Leintwardine ( ) is a small to mid-size village and civil parish in north Herefordshire, England, close to the border with Shropshire. History Roman A popular misconception is that the Romans called the village ''Branogenium''. Branogenium in ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

. The Clun Valley is part of the

Shropshire Hills AONB The Shropshire Hills area, in the English county of Shropshire, is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ( AONB). It is located in the south of the county, extending to its border with Wales. Designated in 1958, the area encompass ...

(Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

Course

The River Clun has its source near the hamlet of

Anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

(in a marshy area near the public house), close to the border of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It flows east through the small town of Clun until

Aston on Clun Aston on Clun is a village in south Shropshire, England. It lies near to the River Clun, with the brook from Hopesay flowing through the village itself, and is on the B4368 road between the towns of Clun and Craven Arms. The village of Broome ...

where it flows roughly southwards — the river flows around the north of Clunbury Hill. The river enters the lower valley — which widens and has a flatter floor (an extensive

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

). The Folly Brook joins the Clun at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, and the

River Unk The River Unk is a small river in Shropshire, England that runs for before flowing into the River Clun. Course It rises close to the site of the Bronze Age cross dyke known as the Lower Short Ditch on the Shropshire - Powys border in the nort ...

flows into the Clun near

Clun Castle Clun Castle is a medieval ruined castle in Clun, Shropshire, England. Clun Castle was established by the Norman lord Robert de Say after the Norman invasion of England and went on to become an important Marcher lord castle in the 12th century, ...

, whilst the River Kemp flows into the river at Oaker near Aston. Near the end of the river's course, the River Redlake joins at

Jay A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

. Just south of Broadward (a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

for a stretch south of Broadward Bridge) the river flows into Herefordshire where it joins the

Features

Many settlements along the course of the river incorporate the river's name, including Clun, and the villages of Newcastle-on-Clun, Clunton,

Clunbury Clunbury is a village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England. It is near to the small town of Clun and the villages of Clunton, Purslow and Aston on Clun. In the village is the Norman Church of St Swithin and a Church of England primar ...

, Aston on Clun, and

Clungunford Clungunford is a village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England, located near the border with Herefordshire. Village The village features St. Cuthbert's parish church. The River Clun flows just to the west of the village and can be cross ...

. In Clun, the historic

Clun Bridge Clun Bridge is a historical bridge in the small town of Clun, Shropshire, England dating from 1450 which crosses over the River Clun. The bridge is still an important bridging point over the River Clun and carries the A488 and B4368 roads ove ...

still takes the

A488 road List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European isla ...

over the river. A number of other historic crossings — bridges and fords — exist over the river, including

Broadward Bridge Broadward is a dispersed hamlet in south Shropshire, England, situated by the border with Herefordshire. It is in the civil parish of Clungunford, a village approximately to the north.Ordnance Survey mapping Geography The placename is shared ...

Ecology

The River Clun is an ideal habitat for

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

white-clawed crayfish ''Austropotamobius pallipes'' is an endangered European freshwater crayfish, and the only crayfish native to the British Isles. Its common names include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish. Distribution It is found from the eas ...

European bullhead The European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bu ...

, grayling and

brook lamprey The brook lamprey (''Lampetra planeri'', also known as the European brook lamprey and the western brook lamprey) is a small European lamprey species that exclusively inhabits freshwater environments. The species is related to, but distinct from, ...

. The river is also noted as a habitat for the

freshwater pearl mussel The freshwater pearl mussel (''Margaritifera margaritifera'') is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Margaritiferidae. Although the name "freshwater pearl mussel" is often used for this species ...

. The Clun and one of its tributaries, the

Unk Anthony Leonard Platt (born November 28, 1981) commonly known by his stage name Unk, is an American DJ, hype man, and rapper. Some of his work has featured on the 2K Sports ''NBA 2K9'' game. He is best known for the mid 2000s snap hit " Walk ...

, have suffered pollution and sediment build up, undermining the mussel's habitat. The catchment area of the river is mostly rural and produces beef, lamb, potatoes and maize. The Clun is one of only eleven watercourses in England that is home to the mussel and one of three English rivers that has been designated a European Special Area of Conservation.

References

External links

{{authority control Clun Clun 1Clun

Course

Features

Ecology

See also

References

External links