This was not a success, as the water levels dropped creating shoals, and in the 1720s, some of the weirs were reinstated, with pound locks to enable boats to bypass them.

This reaffirmed the right of navigation on the river, but prohibited the building of locks and weirs, and so most boating is by canoes and kayaks.

The River Lugg rises at two locations on Pool Hill, to the north-west of Llangunllo, close to the 1,600-foot (490 m) contour, and is joined by several other streams as it descends rapidly.

Castell Foel-Allt, the remains of a medieval motte and bailey castle is located on the north bank, and is a scheduled monument.

Almost opposite is a short section of Offa's Dyke, a long linear earthworks which roughly defined much of the border between England and Wales.

[9] Lugg Bridge, the first of several with this name, carries Ford Street over the river, and has three segmental arches.

It takes its name from a mosaic on the southern pier which was designed by young people at the time of its construction, and has since been restored.

It may have been designed by Sir Jeffry Wyattville for the Arkwright family[23] who lived at Hampton Court, a grade I listed house built between 1427 and 1436 and modified in the 18th century.

The river forms the western and southern boundaries of the associated parkland and the building was remodelled and restored by Wyattville for Richard Arkwright at that time.

It is crossed by two bridges carrying the Welsh Marches Line just to the south of the twin tunnels through Dinmore Hill.

[27] Wellington Brook joins on the west bank of the river, opposite the grade I listed church of St Mary, Marden, which dates from the 13th and 14th centuries.

[3] At the time of the Domesday Book, which recorded details of a survey of the land in 1086, the Lugg was an important river for milling.

Some 80 mills were recorded in the county of Herefordshire, and of those, around one third were located in the valley of the Lugg, some on tributaries and others on the main river.

The Rivers Wye and Lugg Navigation Act 1695 took a radical approach, allowing the weirs to be bought and demolished, with funding for the purchases to be raised by a rate on the county of Herefordshire.

Locks may have been put into some of the weirs; this was certainly true at Tidnor, and may have also been the case at the confluence with the Wye, at Mordiford, Hampton Court, and some other sites.

Overall, the policy of removing the weirs was not a success, as it meant that water levels dropped significantly, and navigation was hindered by shoals, which prevented boats from passing.

1. c. 34) was obtained on 15 May 1727,[36] which openly stated that destroying the weirs had been a mistake, and allowed the trustees to reinstate them, with associated locks.

[43] Thomas Chinn, a millwright from Tewkesbury,[44] was employed to build locks around 1748, after money was raised by subscriptions in Leominster.

Their case was taken to the High Court, and was continued by the Environment Agency, which superseded the National Rivers Authority later that year.

There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates, angiosperms and fish.

Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment.

[73] From its source to its mouth, the entire length of the river has been a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) since 2 February 1995.

[75] Research on similar rivers has shown that reducing the levels of restocking can have a disproportionate benefit for the native populations of both brown trout and grayling, and the club are monitoring catch data to see if this is the case on the Lugg.

While salmon and larger trout can easily negotiate the flume that this creates, it acts as a barrier to smaller fish, grayling and eels, and they recommended that some remedial action should be taken.

[77] Construction of a Larinier fish pass at Ballsgate Weir, near Aymestrey, was expected to be completed in autumn 2019, but work was delayed by high water levels in the river throughout the winter from September onwards.

[a] The damaged area, which was part of the SSSI, was home to protected wildlife including crayfish, otters, salmon, and lampreys.

It was discovered that trees had been felled, river-bed gravel removed, the meanders straightened, and all vegetation in the area had been dug up by bulldozer, without permission, leaving the riverbank devastated.

[81][80] John Price, the landowner, has stated that he was acting legally, and had been asked to carry out the work to prevent flooding of nearby homes.

He admitted seven charges relating to the dumping of materials, modifying the watercourse and natural features, using vehicles to disturb species of interest, and destroying flora and fauna, river habitats and fish populations.

[84][85] In April 2023, Price was jailed for twelve months and ordered to pay a total of over £1.2million in court costs and for the restoration of the affected stretch of river.