River Teme Facts

James River Facts

The River Teme’s source is located in the village of Dolfor, south of Newtown in Mid Wales. It roughly follows the Welsh – English border, before heading into England and joining the River Severn at Powick in Worcestershire.

Facts About the River Teme

  • The River Teme is 130 km (81 miles) long.
  • Some of the River Teme’s tributaries include the River Clun, River Onny, River Corve, River Rea, Leigh Brook, and Kyre Brook.
  • The River Teme is the sixteenth-longest river in the UK and the second-largest of the River Severn’s tributaries.
  • Even though the River Teme floods in its lower course, its upper reaches can dry out. This has happened roughly every three years during the last twenty years.
  • The River Teme is home to a growing population of otters.
  • It flows through the towns of Knighton, Ludlow and Tenbury Wells.
  • Ludlow Castle was built to take advantage of the defensive site created by a bend in the River Teme.
River Teme at Ludlow (1950s)
River Teme at Ludlow (1950s)
  • There are numerous bridges spanning the River Teme, including Burrington Bridge, Castle Bridge, Dinham Bridge, Ludford Bridge, Powick Old Bridge and Teme Bridge.
  • The Rout of Ludford Bridge (sometimes called the Battle of Ludford Bridge) was a minor confrontation of the Wars of the Roses. It took place in 1459 in Ludlow and resulted in a largely bloodless victory for the Lancastrians over the Yorkists.
  • The River Teme catchment area is more than 1600 square kilometres, and it covers parts of the counties of Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Powys.
  • Legend has it there is a ghost that haunts Dinham Bridge in Ludlow. Apparently, it escaped from a bottle having been trapped by a ghosthunter.
  • The River Teme contains an abundance of fish, including chub, barbel, roach, brown trout, grayling, common carp, mirror carp, perch, pike, and bream.
  • Many people swim in the River Teme at Millennium Green, The Linney in Ludlow.
  • Teme Coracles are the name given to the coracle boats made by Peter Faulkner, a coracle builder who lives near the River Teme.

Visit our Rivers resources page, or learn more about some of the UK’s longest rivers.