The Top 10 Longest Rivers in the UK
Have you ever wondered what ten longest rivers in the UK are? If you have the good news is I have all the information you need right here. These are ten rivers that you really won’t want to canoe down…
The Top 10 Longest Rivers in the UK
10 – River Nene – (Estimated Length: 100 Miles)
Wiki Info: The River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about 3.7 miles (6.0 km). It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom and is navigable for 88 miles from Northampton to The Wash.
9 – River Spey – (Estimated Length: 107 Miles)
Wiki Info: The River Spey is a river in the northeast of Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the third longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishing and whisky production.
8 – River Clyde – (Estimated Length: 109 Miles)
Wiki Info: The River Clyde is a river, that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second-longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire.
7 – River Tay – (Estimated Length: 117 Miles)
Wiki Info: The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the United Kingdom. The Tay originates in western Scotland on the slopes of Ben Lui, then flows easterly across the Highlands, through Loch Dochart, Loch Iubhair and Loch Tay, then continues east through Strathtay, in the center of Scotland, then southeasterly through Perth, where it becomes tidal, to its mouth at the Firth of Tay, south of Dundee. It is the largest river in the UK by measured discharge.
6 – River Ure/River Ouse – (Estimated Length: 129 Miles)
Wiki Info: The River Ure is a river in North Yorkshire, England, approximately 74 miles long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only one of the major Dales now named after a village rather than its river. The old name for the valley was Yoredale after the river that runs through it.
5 – River Wye – (Estimated Length: 134 Miles)
Wiki Info: The River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK, stretching some 134 miles 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 is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Wye is important for nature conservation and recreation.
4 – River Great Ouse – (Estimated Length: 143 Miles)
Wiki Info: The River Great Ouse is a river in the United Kingdom, the longest of several British rivers called “Ouse”. From Syresham in central England, the Great Ouse flows into East Anglia before entering the Wash, a bay of the North Sea. With a course of 143 miles, mostly flowing north and east, it is one of the longest rivers in the United Kingdom.
3 – River Trent – (Estimated Length: 185 Miles)
Wiki Info: The River Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains most of the metropolitan central and northern Midlands south and east of its source north of Stoke-on-Trent. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and spring snowmelt, which in past times often caused the river to change course.
2 – River Thames – (Estimated Length: 215 Miles)
Wiki Info: The River Thames is a river that flows through southern England, most notably through London. At 215 miles, it is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn. It also flows through Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its long tidal reach up to Teddington Lock.
1 – River Severn – (Estimated Length: 220 Miles)
Wiki Info: The river is usually considered to become the Severn Estuary after the Second Severn Crossing between Severn Beach, South Gloucestershire and Sudbrook, Monmouthshire. The river then discharges into the Bristol Channel which in turn discharges into the Celtic Sea and the wider Atlantic Ocean. The Severn’s drainage basin area is 4,409 square miles, excluding the River Wye and Bristol Avon which flow into the Severn Estuary.
