Symonds Yat East put-in

Downstream of the launch, the river passes the Symonds Yat Rapids, a grade-2 man-made feature built from rock groynes on the right bank. Paddle UK, then the British Canoe Union, bought the banks here in 2003, securing year-round access to the rapids; after heavy rain the features wash out into fast-flowing water with no distinct rapid.

Beyond the rapids the river continues through the gorge past the Biblins suspension footbridge, about a mile and a half downstream, and on towards Monmouth, around six miles away. The put-in at Kerne Bridge lies roughly nine miles upstream.

The limestone cliffs above the launch, including Symonds Yat Rock and Coldwell Rocks, have been an RSPB-wardened viewpoint for peregrine falcons since 1983, with the birds visible hunting and raising young between April and August. The river here forms part of the River Wye Special Area of Conservation, protecting floating water-crowfoot, Atlantic salmon, bullhead, lamprey and one of Britain's densest otter populations.

The Saracens Head Inn, on the same bank as the launch, runs a hand-pulled ferry across the river on an overhead cable, the only traditional example still working on the Wye. Motorised tourist boats also operate seasonally from the inn.