Whitney-on-Wye to New South Wales. Whitney-on-Wye Whitney-on-Wye is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, very close to the border with Wales. The population of this civil parish at the 2011 census was 117. It is on the A438 road, and on the River Wye. The village is west of Hereford. The church is dedicated to the Saints Peter and Paul. Whitney-on-Wye was first mentioned in the Domesday Book with the spelling Witenie. The most plausible meaning for the name is "White Water", from the Anglo-Saxon "hwit" (white) and "ey" (water), and probably refers to the River Wye which runs
River Wye River Wye The River Wye () is the fifth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of the border between England and Wales. The Wye Valley (lower part) is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Wye is important for nature conservation and recreation. The meaning of the name is not clear. Possibly the earliest reference to the name is "Guoy" in Nennius' early 9th Century "Historia Brittonum" and the modern Welsh name is "Gwy". The Wye was much later