A photographic exhibition, featuring newly-commissioned portraits alongside older, historic images of people who have lived and worked along the Wye, opens at HARC (Hereford Archives and Record Centre) next week, featuring local rowers.

The exhibition is the culmination of a year-long oral history project from Herefordshire Lore.

In the summer of 2017, a team of interviewers travelled up and down the length of the Wye in Herefordshire, recording the stories of people who have lived, worked, and played in, on and beside the beautiful River Wye.

Life-long Ross Rowing Club members, Howard Copping and Brian Dean feature, with photos donated by Brian Butcher.

Thanks to them, a stunning collection of memories, photographs and artefacts of the Wye has been collected from ferrywomen, boatmen, boat-builders, swimmers, rowers, anglers, bailiffs, poachers, and more.

Project Manager Marsha O’Mahony said: ‘We are grateful to Heritage Lottery Players and Hereford City Council for making this project possible. There is an urgency to ensure voices of ‘ordinary’ people on the River Wye have their place in history, and we think this project goes some way to achieve this.’

River Voices: Stories from the Wye is at HARC, Fir Tree Lane, Rotherwas, Hereford, from May 23rd to June 29th. For further information please contact: [email protected]