Forbidden Rivers
Staying almost on the banks of the Wye, that dancing river, I desired to walk beside it, but the difficulties, whether up or down, were almost insurmountable. Apart from other obstructions, barbed wire, of serried hostility, barred every approach. No one could enjoy the river on either side, and the very long intervals between bridges admitted no approach by road. Once there was a ferry or two in lieu of bridges ; but they have been dismantled. This was above the city of Hereford. Below it, I am told, poisoning by sewage effluents is rife. Unlike the unfortunate Lea, which has a town on its upper reaches, the waters are pure enough above the city, but it may become a question whether the salmon and such will be able to make their way through the polluted reaches. It seems to me that access to the rivers (as to the sea-shore) and the purity of their waters are greatly more important than the National Parks, of which so much is heard. Freedom to walk beside our rivers and approach our shores is a much greater national need than the erection of a hostel in Snowdonia or the definition of an area in Pembrokeshire.
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