The rowing scene in Hereford
Hereford is a small-city rowing scene built around a single historic boathouse on the River Wye. Hereford Rowing Club (founded 1861) shares its Greyfriars Avenue site with Hereford Cathedral School Boat Club, and the annual Hereford Regatta - one of the longest-running fixtures in English rowing - has drawn crowds to the riverside since the 1850s. Further downstream, Ross Rowing Club in Ross-on-Wye keeps the rest of the Herefordshire stretch of the Wye active.
Key numbers
The River Wye through Hereford is a narrow, winding, non-tidal river prone to summer low water and winter spate. It is technically demanding rowing water - tight bends, shallow stretches and an unforgiving river-level swing - but visually it is one of the most beautiful inland reaches in the country. Above Hereford the river meanders through a broad floodplain; downstream the valley tightens through the Wye Gorge towards Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth.
All 3 rowing clubs in Hereford
Sorted by founding year. Every entry links to the club's own website; we verified all URLs in May 2026. If you spot an error or your club is missing, let us know.
| Club | Founded | Location | Reach | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hereford Rowing Club
Formed at the Saracens Head Inn on 26 June 1861. Won the Britannia Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 1971, took a national title at the 2024 British Rowing Championships and three national titles at the 2025 British Rowing Club Championships. |
1861 | 37 Greyfriars Avenue, Hereford, HR4 0BE | River Wye (Hereford) | Senior community |
|
Ross Rowing Club
Founded 1870 with first headquarters at the Hope Public House; first purpose-built boathouse opened 1908. Clubhouse closed after consecutive Wye floods in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and reopened in June 2022 with a Sport England grant for resilience works. |
1870 | The Boathouse, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 7BU | River Wye (Ross-on-Wye) | Senior community |
|
Hereford Cathedral School Boat Club
Boat club of Hereford Cathedral School, sharing the Greyfriars Avenue boathouse with Hereford RC. Won the J16 coxless quad A final at the National Schools Regatta at Dorney Lake, and competes regularly at Henley and the National Schools Regatta. |
- | Hereford Rowing Club boathouse, 37 Greyfriars Avenue, Hereford, HR4 0BE | River Wye (Hereford) | School |
Major regattas in or near Hereford
Late May / early June (Hereford RC)
August Bank Holiday weekend (Ross-on-Wye)
Software for Hereford rowing clubs
Most of the 3 clubs above still run their boat booking, member admin, session attendance and crew lineups on a combination of spreadsheets, WhatsApp groups and printed sheets on the boathouse wall. Row HQ is rowing-club management software built specifically for clubs like these.
If your committee is hitting the predictable problems - lineups in the wrong file, fees uncollected, attendance unrecorded, captain on holiday with the password - book a 30-minute demo. We've ported clubs from spreadsheets in a weekend.
See Row HQ for your club
Free forever for clubs of up to 20 active members. No card needed.
Other rowing-club cities
Looking at the wider regional scene? Here are the other cities we have full directories for.
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From the blog
If you're researching the rowing scene in Hereford as a club admin or captain, these are the most useful pieces we've written.