River Wye all the way downstream from Hay to Hereford and Monmouth, and the tidal Wye to Chepstow and the Severn Estuary. There are a wide range of canoe hire and supervised trips, as well as campsites at key points on the river. Symonds Yat has a particularly popular series of rapids that was purchased by the British Canoe Union in 2003 to preserve the rapids for recreational use, canoe trips through the rapids stop next at Monmouth. There are three rowing clubs on the river at Hereford, Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth. Annual regattas are held at Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth for rowers and
England–Wales border extent to which it was able to be autonomous from England in public policy is a matter of debate. The establishment of devolved government in Wales through the Welsh Assembly, set up in 1999, has led to a divergence between England and Wales on some Government policies. One such is the fact that prescription charges were abolished in Wales in 2007. In 2008, residents of the village of Audlem, Cheshire, from the border, "voted" to become part of Wales in what was originally a joke ballot. Some residents sought to make a case for securing Welsh benefits such as free