Afon Hafren, the river Severn, is a mighty Welsh river and one well known to the people of Montgomeryshire – and beyond. In this session, Sarah Siân Chave takes us on a journey from Hafren’s source to the sea, following the river’s route from the Pumlumon hills near Llanidloes and her meandering through England, before she finds her way back home to Wales and to the sea.

Along the way, we’ll explore how the river has shaped many histories and is part of many stories. And as she travels along the length of the river, Sarah will also ask what Hafren can teach us about the crucial importance of all rivers in nature and how humans can live more sustainably alongside them.

In conversation with Festival favourite, Jon Gower, this promises to be a journey we’ll all want to share.

Sarah Siân Chave has over thirty years’ experience as a teacher and researcher in further and higher education. Her passions are sustainability, social justice and encouraging educational spaces for exploring new ways of being in the world together. Raised by a Welsh mother in the English Midlands, she enjoys learning about and connecting with her Welsh roots. She now lives in the south west of England near Hafren’s banks, and is the author of Hafren: The Wisdom of the River Severn.  

Jon Gower has over forty books to his name, in Welsh and English, including Birdland: A Journey Around Britain on the Wing; Raider: The Raymond Chester Story; The Turning Tide: A Biography of the Irish Sea, and Y Diwedd, the final volume of his Welsh language crime trilogy. He is also the author of The Story of Wales which accompanied the landmark BBC series, An Island Called Smith which gained the John Morgan Travel Writing Award, and Y Storïwr which won the Wales Book of the Year award.  He is a former BBC Wales arts and media correspondent and was for many years the presenter of Radio Wales’ arts’ programme First Hand.