Possibly the earliest reference to the name is Guoy in Nennius' early 9th Century Historia Brittonum and the modern Welsh name is Gwy.

It flows through or past several towns and villages, including Rhayader, Builth Wells, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford (the only city on the River Wye), Ross-on-Wye, Symonds Yat, Monmouth and Tintern, meeting the Severn estuary just below Chepstow.

The Lower Wye SSSI is itself divided into seven units of assessment set by Natural England, and administrative responsibilities are shared between the councils of Powys, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Monmouthshire.

The river supports a range of species and habitats covered by European Directives and those listed under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

In hot weather, the entire river stinks of chicken sh**, from the 10 million birds being reared in the catchment..This pollution causes algal blooms several times a year with increasing frequency and length, depleting the oxygen in the water causing fish such as brown trout, chub and barbel as well as aquatic invertebrates and plants to suffocate to death.

[5] An internal report by the Environment Agency showed that the use of a “voluntary approach” by government was leading to increased levels of river pollution across the UK.

[25] The Romans constructed a bridge of wood and stone just upstream of present-day Chepstow, some remains of which were found in the river bed during an archaeological dig in 1911.

[28] The tidal range on this lower section is huge, with water levels rising by up to 50 feet (15 m) on some spring tides, but despite the risks of navigating such a river, it has been used since Roman times to transport coal from the Forest of Dean, cider from Hereford, together with Italian wine, iron, stone and timber.

From the 13th century, the records are clearer, and iron from forges at Bicknor, Lydbrook, Monmouth and Carey Mills was transported by river.

In 1622, a petition was raised by the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, together with the city of Hereford, that the river should be cleared of obstructions that made fishing and navigation difficult.

During Cromwell's Commonwealth period, proposals were made to improve the river for navigation by building flash locks at the weirs, and dredging the channel to make it deeper.

Although there were arguments for and against the proposals, Sir William Sandys was appointed in 1662 to oversee making the Wye and the River Lugg navigable.

[31] He was assisted by Henry and Windsor Sandys, and they were given powers to construct a towing path, 4 feet (1.2 m) wide on both sides of the river, to allow boats to be hauled upstream.

[32] The scheme involved the construction of flash locks in channels cut to bypass the weirs, a system which Sandys had used with success on the Avon, but the Wye was a much faster flowing river, which meant that the solution was impracticable and very costly.

It had been abandoned by 1668, as maintenance costs made the operation of boats unprofitable, and a new scheme, proposed by Lord Coningsby of Hampton Court, Herefordshire was to be implemented.

One unexpected consequence of removing the weirs was that water levels dropped, resulting in there being a number of shoals that boats now had to negotiate.

[36] In 1763, James Taylor proposed the construction of 22 weirs, each with an associated pound lock, to make the river fully navigable, but the scheme was not implemented.

William Jessop carried out a survey, and the towing path was authorised by the Wye and Lugg Navigation and Horse Towing-path Act 1809 (49 Geo.

Progress on the project was rapid, and local newspapers announced the arrival of two barges in Hereford on 23 January 1811, each towed by two horses.

[39] A steam tug was trialled on the river in 1825, but although it proved to be successful, it was sold due to the difficulty of finding suitable barges for it to tow.

Passenger services became a feature of the river from 1835, with boats running between Ross, Monmouth and Chepstow, later extended to include Goodrich and Tintern.

[40] The river was also navigable above Hereford, as far as Hay-on-Wye, although only when there was sufficient water, and a system of ropes and pulleys were used to allow boats to negotiate the rapids at Monnington.

[41] Money was spent several times improving the River Lugg from Leominster to its confluence with the Wye at Mordiford, but its navigation is likely to have been difficult.

[43] It ceased to be free after the modifications by Sandys in the 17th century, but this right was re-established by the 1695 act, which stated: Therefore be it enacted that the rivers Wye and Lugg may be henceforth accounted, deemed and taken to be free and common rivers for all to make use of for carrying and conveying of all passenger goods, wares and commodities by boats, barges, lighters and other vessels whatsoever.

[46] In March 2019, Barton returned to the river, navigating a narrowboat called Wye Invader Two from Sharpness to Monmouth Rowing Club and back again.

There is a public right of navigation up to Hay-on-Wye,[48] and canoes are generally permitted on the next 5.5 miles (8.9 km) up to Glasbury, so long as they do not disturb anglers.

The river over-topped its banks and caused flooding in several areas, including Hay-on-Wye, Hereford, Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth.