 The hilly terrain was unsuitable for the canals of the type which were being built elsewhere, but in the first decade of the nineteenth century plans were laid for a number of horse-drawn railways to carry goods cheaply to the Rivers Severn and Wye.Bullo Pill, on the Severn near Newnham, originally a small tidal creek off the main river used for boat building, was developed by building a dock basin with lock gates, and wharfs for loading goods for shipment.Coal and stone from the Forest could be loaded at the dock and exported on the Severn trows up or down the river.