The River Vyrnwy ( cy, Afon Efyrnwy, ) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

which flows through northern

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. The name derives from

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

, the river of which it is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

Course

The river used to be sourced from the many rivers and streams running off the mountains surrounding the Vyrnwy valley. However, since the

Lake Vyrnwy , image = Lakevyrnwysummer.jpg , caption = View overlooking Lake Vyrnwy showing the full extent of the lake , image_bathymetry = , pushpin_map=Wales Powys , caption_bathymetry = , location = Wales , c ...

dam was built in the 1880s, the river has flowed directly from the base of the dam. The river runs for , and the last form part of the Welsh/English border between

and

. It eventually joins the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

near the village of

Melverley Melverley is a village in Shropshire, England, situated on the River Severn and the River Vyrnwy, near the Powys hills and the border with Wales. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 156. The village, and the large rural a ...

Recreational

The river is paddled frequently by

kayakers A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

and

canoeists A canoe is a lightweight narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British Englis ...

, with the upper reaches of the river being predominantly ''

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

'' white water with a few '' Grade III'' sections, most notably the Vyrnwy Gorge near the village of

Dolanog Dolanog () or Pont Dolanog is an ecclesiastical parish or chapelry that was formed in October 1856. It comprises the townships of Dolwar in Llanfihangel portions of Coedtalog in Llanerfyl, Cynhinfa in Llangyniew and Gwaunynog in Llanfa ...

. The other most prominent feature of the upper river is Dolanog Falls, a man-made weir that requires a

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

by both kayaks and canoes. Much of the lower river below

Pontrobert Pontrobert is an ecclesiastical parish that was formed in September 1854. It comprises the townships of Teirtref and part of Nantymeichiaid in the parish Meifod, a portion of Cynhinfa which was in the parish of Llangynyw and portions of the to ...

is ''

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

'' and a good touring river due to being relatively placid when not in flood.

References

External links

Photos of the River Vyrnwy on geograph.org.uk
Vyrnwy Vyrnwy Vyrnwy England–Wales border {{Wales-river-stub