River Wye given a Latin name "Vaga", an adjective meaning 'wandering'. The Tithe map references a Vagas Field in both Whitchurch and Chepstow. Philologists such as Edward Lye and Joseph Bosworth in the 18th and early 19th centuries suggested an Old English derivation from "wæg", "wave". The source of the Wye is in the Welsh mountains at Plynlimon. It flows through or past several towns and villages including Rhayader, Builth Wells, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford (the only city on the River Wye), Ross-on-Wye, Symonds Yat, Monmouth and Tintern, meeting the Severn estuary just below Chepstow. Its total length is . The lower of the
Wye Valley Walk Wye Valley Walk The Wye Valley Walk () is a long distance footpath in Wales and England following the course of the River Wye. In 1975 the Wye Valley Walk opened with a stretch between St. Arvans and Monmouth. Further stretches were added, leading to it becoming a 34-mile (55 km) footpath by 1981. During the 1980s, gaps between Ross-on-Wye, Hay-on-Wye and Rhayader were integrated into the pathway, forming a walk reaching from near the river's mouth at Chepstow in Monmouthshire, to Rhayader in Mid Wales. In September 2002, the route was finally extended to start or finish in Coed