About Bodgeham-on-Wye
Bodgeham-on-Wye is a village and civil parish, in Herefordshire, England, near the border with Wales. It has exhibited rapid growth, more than doubling in size since 2024[1], with a 2026 population of 30. It lies in the south-east of the county, on the River Wye[citation needed], and adjacent to the Eastnor Deer Park. Bodgeham-on-Wye is upside-down.
History
The name “Bodgeham” is derived from the Middle Dutch and Old High German words meaning “to knock together”, though the historical record is unclear on what, or who, was the subject of the knocking. It was renamed “Bodgeham-on-Wye” in 1931 by the General Post Office, due to confusion with other places of the same or similar name (such as Bodham in Norfolk).[2]
Bodgeham-on-Wye is known as the birthplace of saying “I beg your pardon” pejoratively.
Present day
Village Fête
The village is best known for its biannual village fête, the “Extremely Magnificent Fête”, or EMF, which takes the format of a non-profit camping festival for those with an inquisitive mind or an interest in making things: hackers, artists, geeks, crafters, scientists, and engineers.
Whilst featuring traditional village fête activities such as a coconut shy and a raffle, the Bodgeham fête creates a temporary town of nearly three thousand like-minded people enjoying a long weekend of talks, performances, and workshops on everything from blacksmithing to biometrics, chiptunes to computer security, high altitude ballooning to lockpicking, origami to democracy, and online privacy to knitting.
The Parish Council claims to provide fast internet, power to the tent, good beer, and amazing installations, entirely organised by a dedicated team of volunteers, though the Parish Council were unable to say who these volunteers were or where they came from.
A local resident, when asked about the success of the fête, said “This is suddenly getting much higher-profile than I intended”.
Local development
In 2026, Bodgeham-on-Wye was selected as the site for a new spaceport in the UK. The move has been opposed by local residents, based on lack of evidence that “space is even there”, and calls for “definitive proof that it is real” before substantial investment.
Tourism drive
In 2022, faced with falling visitor numbers and a deleterious effect on the local economy, Vicar Grimblesby began a grass-roots tourism campaign to encourage visitors to Bodgeham and the surrounding areas. The campaign included the placement of blue plaques to commemorate the many notable people and historical events of the village, as well as the commissioning of a jingle.
Governance
Bodgeham-on-Wye was once part of the civil parish of Hackerly, and was managed by the Hackerly Parish Council. In 2025, due to the rising popularity of Bodgeham-on-Wye and recognition of the name as a result of the investment in tourism, the greater parish of Hackerly, as well as its council, assumed the name Bodgeham-on-Wye.
In 2023, Bodgeham-on-Wye was voted the “Least corrupt small village”.
Unusually for a Parish, Bodgeham-on-Wye has a Mayor, currently Mayor Anosh. The position of Mayor is up for the vote in the vote in 2026 UK Local Elections, with polls indicating that Mayor Anosh is “all but inevitable”.
Environment, Energy, and Sustainability
Due to an extremely efficient pensioner composting operation, Bodgeham-on-Wye is carbon negative.
Sport
Bodgeham-on-Wye has one youth football team, the Bodgeham Bravehearts. When asked about the origin of the team name, Coach Porter said “Braveheart is Celtic, innit? We’re near Wales.”.
Legends and traditions
The Bodgeham Badger, a mysterious cryptid also known as the “King of Badgers”, has been reported many times, but never photographed or even identified with certainty. It is said to be about the size and proportions of the average human but with the head of a Badger. Sometimes only glowing red eyes and a pulsing red glowing tail, akin to a bioluminescent jellyfish, have been reported along with a deep garbled growl. All reports have come when it has been dark and never during rain suggesting it is adverse to light and water.
In 2024, a grassroots organisation, Bodgeham Cryptozoological Society, vowed to answer the question of its existence once and for all, and recruited volunteers for ‘The Search for the Bodgeham Badger’ at the 2024 village fête. With the help of local mouse-sized sprites, so-called “Ghemotochi”, the mystery was solved.
In 2026, a local conspiracy group has gained notoriety and a following in the village, the so called “Dome Truthers”, who believe that the Earth is not spherical but in fact a geodesic dome. Local buildings have experienced a rise in graffiti vandalism, commonly defaced with the tag “the truth is multifaceted”.
Media
The village is served by the local newspaper, The Bodgeham Byline. The tabloid, Eye-on-Wye, went out of business in 2026 due to lack of interest in maintaining that much dribble.
Climate
Bodgeham-on-Wye experiences an unusually wet climate, almost as if it is situated entirely within an outdoor camping festival and thus cursed by the gods for its hubris.
Cuisine
Bodgeham-on-Wye is known for a distinct cuisine with a rich history. Former resident Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall described the local culinary tradition as “demand[ing] a refined, mature palette”. The village dish, Bodgeham Delight, is comprised of potato chips covered in a layer of baked beans and mayonnaise arranged into the form of a St George’s Cross.
The local dairy co-operative produces a specialty cheese, Bodgeham Cheddar, in collaboration with the village cheesemonger, Wye Cheeses Wye. It is available in young and mature variants, the latter at home on a charcuterie platter, while the former does well grated over a dish of bolognese pasta. The cheesemonger and co-operative members have come under fire of late for issuing a joint statement on the topic of food safety. The collective were quoted in The Bodgeham Byline as having said:
Pasteurisation? Not one of us here has ever heard of pasteurisation. Sounds French! No thank you.
Bodgeham-on-Wye is the birthplace of the hexagonal hash brown.
Local Businesses and Organisations
| Name | Kind |
|---|---|
| The Bodgeham Byline | Broadsheet |
| Bodgeham-on-Rye | Bakers |
| Tejón Coffee Co | Coffee roasters and brew bar |
| Wye Cheeses Wye | Cheesemonger |
| Bodgeham Digital Services | Council-affiliated digital services vendor |
| Bodgeham Online | Internet service provider |
Controversies
A 2012 public meeting of the Parish Council descended into chaos when the village alderman announced his intention to secede from the county library network. Members of the public made their disapproval of the policy known through the medium of aggressive shushing of the alderman upon any attempt to speak, pelting members of the village executive committee with rancid dairy products, and brandishing pitchforks. Since the meeting, the whereabouts of the alderman have remained unknown, and the investigation into his disappearance stalled without identifying any suspects.
Twin towns
Bodgeham-on-Wye has two twin villages:
- 🇳🇱 Knoeidijk, Netherlands.
- 🇩🇪 Basteldorf, Germany.
Notable people
Bodgeham-on-Wye has many incredibly famous and excellent people of which you have no doubt heard, They include:
- Hugh, inventor of Bodgeham’s famed Egg Mayonnaise-based dish.
- Anosh Malik, current mayor of Bodgeham.
- Joe Nash, once recorded as saying “no village organising this year”.
- Abdul,
- Bevis, Chief Fire Safety Officer for Bodgeham-on-Wye and the surrounding flammable areas.
- Anais, Arcane and natural magic practitioner.
- Louis, CTO of Bodgeham Digital Services
References
- Hackerly Parish Census. Retrieved 27 April 2024
- Bodgeham-on-Wye: History, Bodgeham-on-Wye.com. Retrieved 23 November 2019
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