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, Worcester and Gloucester lie on its course.
The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
Post marked as the source of the River Severn on Plynlimon, Wales. The wording is in both English and Welsh.
Worcester Cathedral overlooking the Severn
High Town, Bridgnorth.
Hafren is a legendary British princess who was drowned in the River Severn by her repudiated stepmother Gwendolen. The legend appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae. According to Geoffrey, Hafren is the eponym of the Severn, which bears one of Britain's most ancient river names.
The Statue of Sabrina (1857) depicting Hafren, at Amherst College
William Burges's unexecuted design for a fountain commemorating Sabrina planned for Gloucester
Image: Comus Rackham 161
Image: Comus Rackham 177
