River Lugg

River Lugg
The Lugg at Hampton Bishop
Native name	Afon Llugwy (Welsh)
Location
Country	Wales, England
Counties	Powys, Herefordshire
Settlements	Llangynllo, Presteigne, Leominster, Hope under Dinmore, Bodenham, Marden, Lugwardine
Physical characteristics
Source	Llangynllo
• location	Radnor Forest, Radnorshire, Wales
• coordinates	52°21′29″N 3°12′20″W / 52.35806°N 3.20556°W / 52.35806; -3.20556 (source)
• elevation	497 m (1,631 ft)
Mouth	confluence with River Wye
• location	Mordiford, Herefordshire, England
• coordinates	52°01′52″N 2°38′10″W / 52.03111°N 2.63611°W / 52.03111; -2.63611 (mouth)
• elevation	46 m (151 ft)
Length	63 mi (101 km)[1]
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	River Frome
• right	River Arrow

v t e River Lugg
Legend
Source of the Lugg Heart of Wales Line B4356 bridge B4356 Greenstreet Bridge tributary B4356 Llangunllo Bridge A488 Glan-Llugwy Bridge, Monaughty tributary B4357 Whitton Bridge Cascob Brook B4356 Rock Bridge B4355 Boultibrooke Bridge Norton Brook Lugg Bridge, Presteigne Rosser's Bridge Hindwell Brook Lime Brook Lyepole Bridge A4110 Aymestry Bridge B4362 Lugg Bridge, Mortimer's Cross Lugg Bridge, Lugg Green Kenwater Pinsley Brook B4361 bridge, Leominster Welsh Marches Line Ridgemoor Brook A44 Ridgemoor Bridge Cheaton Brook Kenwater A49 Mosaic Bridge A44 Eaton Bridge River Arrow Ford Bridge, Ford A417 Hampton Court Bridge Humber Brook Bodenham Brook Bodenham Bridge Welsh Marches Line Welsh Marches Line Laystone Bridge, Marden Wellington Brook Moreton Bridge Wergins Bridge Moreton Brook Cotswold Line River Little Lugg A4103 Lugg Bridge A438 Lugwardine Bridge River Frome B4224 Mordiford Bridge + remains of lock Pentaloe Brook River Wye

The River Lugg (Welsh: Afon Llugwy) rises near Llangynllo in Powys, Wales. From its source, it flows through the border town of Presteigne and then into Herefordshire, England. It meets its main tributary, the River Arrow, to the south of Leominster, then flows into the River Wye downstream of Hereford at Mordiford, around 63 miles (101 km) from its source. Its name comes from a Welsh root, and means "bright stream".^[2]

As it passes through the countryside, it is crossed by a number of bridges, many of which are listed structures. Lugg Bridge at Lugwardine and the bridge at Mordiford with its associated causeway both date from the 14th century. The river at Leominster was altered significantly in the 1960s, when it was diverted to the south and then along the course of the Leominster and Kington Railway around the northern edge of the town, as part of a flood defence scheme. In the past, it was important for milling, supplying power to nearly one third of the mills in Herefordshire at the time of the Domesday Book. There are a few mills left, and some obvious mill sites, but many of the mills below Leominster were bought up and their weirs demolished as part of a scheme to make the river navigable in the 1690s. 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. Navigation up to Leominster was for a time possible, although it was never hugely successful, and ceased in the 1860s, once railways had been built in the area.

The river was a free navigation as a result of powers obtained in an act of Parliament, the Rivers Wye and Lugg Navigation Act 1695 (7 & 8 Will. 3. c. 14), but in 2002, the Environment Agency became the navigation authority following the passing of the Wye Navigation Order 2002 (SI 2002/1998). 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 is also used for fishing, as it has good populations of wild brown trout and grayling. Water quality of the river system is moderate, although some of its tributaries have poor water quality, and some bad. In common with many rivers, the chemical quality changed from good to fail in 2019, following the introduction of testing for chemicals not previously included in the quality assessment. The whole of the river is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and since 2003, a policy of building fish passes where there are weirs has led to significant improvements to the presence of migratory fish in the river.