River Wye, Buckinghamshire

Wye
River Wye near Wooburn Industrial Estate
Location
CountryEngland
CountiesBuckinghamshire
TownsHigh Wycombe, Bourne End
Physical characteristics
Source 
  locationWest Wycombe, Chiltern Hills
  coordinates51°38′52″N 0°48′45″W / 51.64778°N 0.81250°W / 51.64778; -0.81250
  elevation94m
MouthRiver Thames
  location
Bourne End
  coordinates
51°34′13″N 0°42′40″W / 51.57028°N 0.71111°W / 51.57028; -0.71111
  elevation
26m
Length17 km (11 mi)
Discharge 
  locationHedsor
  average1.00 m3/s (35 cu ft/s)
  minimum0.25 m3/s (8.8 cu ft/s)25 December 1973
  maximum4.40 m3/s (155 cu ft/s)25 September 1981
Discharge 
  locationHigh Wycombe
  average0.31 m3/s (11 cu ft/s)

The River Wye is a river in Buckinghamshire, England. It takes its name from the town of High Wycombe through which it flows, rather than the town being named after the river, as is more commonly the case.

Around 10.5 miles (16.9 km) in length, the Wye rises close to West Wycombe village in the Chiltern Hills and flows through High Wycombe, where it is fed from other tributataries such as Hughenden Stream, before emptying into the River Thames at Bourne End, on the reach above Cookham Lock. In particularly wet years, the source can temporarily change and effectively extend the river by another mile, due to a chalk spring rising above the ground in a field further up the same valley. The River Wye now runs in underground culverts through the centre of High Wycombe. Pann Mill watermill, at the eastern end of Wycombe, is the last remaining watermill on the river.