Herefordshire

Understand

The county is dominated by the course of the River Wye, often referred to as the Wye Valley. The Wye is held as one of the best salmon-fishing rivers outside Scotland by fishing enthusiasts. Two sections of this valley are designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The shallows around the river crossing, at Ross-on-Wye, are said to be the best breeding ground of elvers (baby eels). Fifteen bridges cross the river on its 130-mile (210-km) course, the oldest being the city’s five-arched Old Wye Bridge, completed in 1490 and the newest being the Canary Bridge, Rotherwas, now linked to Sustrans’ 5,220-mile (8,400-km) national cycle Network. The city of Hereford has over 17 mi (27 km) of dedicated cycle lanes.

History

For centuries, the region was a hotly-contested territory between the adjoining countries of Wales and England, never more so that during the reign of the 8th-century King Offa. In 794, Offa is reputed to have ordered the assassination of the 14-year-old East Anglian King Ethelbert, who had been lured to Herefordshire with the offer of marriage to the Mercian warlord’s daughter Alfreda, and the promise of territorial expansion. There's a shrine to Ethelbert (later canonised) close to the Lady Chapel in Hereford Cathedral. Hereford is one of the five administrative burhs which Offa is credited with creating, during his 39-year reign. The introduction to Sir Nikolaus Pevsner’s 1963 volume on Herefordshire, in his Buildings of England series, begins: "There are not many counties in England of which it can be said that, wherever one goes, there will not be a mile that is not rewarding". The Battle of the Three Suns In 1461, at dawn on the morning of the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, the opposing Yorkist and Lancastrian forces were drawn up in the Lugg valley at the extreme north of the county. A heavy mist, rising from the river, caused the refraction of the sun, which appeared to the frightened troops of both sides as three suns. The Yorkists’ leade

Getting there

By plane Herefordshire has no commercial airport, but the county is accessible from Birmingham International, Bristol, Cardiff and London Heathrow. 1 Heathrow Airport (LHR IATA) is 130 mi (210 km) by car and takes about 3 hr, depending on traffic. To reach Hereford by train, you'll need to travel via London Paddington; journey times are slightly less than 4 hr. 2 Birmingham Airport (BHX IATA) is 64 mi (103 km) away with a driving time of about 1 hr 40 min. By train, a journey via Birmingham New Street takes just over 2 hr. 3 Cardiff Airport (CWL IATA) is 70 mi (110 km) away with a driving time of 1 hr 20 min. By train, a journey via Cardiff Central takes around 2 hr. 4 Bristol Airport (BRS IATA) is 70 mi (110 km) away with a driving time of 1 hr 40 min. Don't use Bristol if you're not hiring a car, as the journey by bus and train to Hereford takes 3 hr.

By rail

Hereford's railway station is the county's rail hub. Best journey time from the capital is under three hours, a scenic east-west route passing through the counties of Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Worcestershire. There are six trains a day on this route. The most frequent trains (at least once every hour, all day) come in from Birmingham New Street, Cardiff Central, Manchester Piccadilly, Shrewsbury and Worcester. Unfortunately, much of the rolling stock on these lines is pretty ancient. The exception is GWR's sleek new Hitachi train sets for the London run, with coaches as comfortable as Spain's RNFE network. Hereford was the last major English city to be connected to the rail network, nearly half a century after steam locomotion was adopted. Its Grade-II listed Victorian-Gothic station survives and in 2007 was selected as one of Britain’s 100 best stations.

Getting around

By car Most visitors to Herefordshire will find it easiest to travel around by car, given the rural nature of the county and the patchy public transport network. The county is only connected to the national motorway network in the extreme south (M50) and there are few dual carriageways. Travel can therefore be a bit on the slow side, but this lends itself to enjoying the scenery and allowing stops in scenic towns and villages en route. Minor roads in the countryside are often winding and narrow (roughly the width of a modern tractor). They are usually lined with high, dense hedges which obscure the view of oncoming vehicles. Drive cautiously, beep your horn on corners and use the passing places - sometimes the nearest one is behind you.

By bus Confusingly, Hereford has three bus termini: one (urban routes) is behind the Tesco supermarket in Bewell Street; one on St Peter’s Square (rural routes); and one behind the former Odeon cinema in Commercial Road (inter-city). Weather protection is barely adequate (no heated waiting rooms) and none have real-time displays. For the Herefordshire towns of Bromyard, Kington and Ross-on-Wye and smaller villages and places to visit, there are buses. Buses towards Leominster, Ludlow, Kington, Llandrindod Wells, Hay-on-Wye, Brecon and Monmouth leave from outside the Hereford railway station and also stop at the Country Bus Station. Services towards Abergavenny, Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff, Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury, Bromyard and Worcester and most villages leave from the "County Bus Station" (behind the cinema on Commercial road - about 3 minutes walk from the station). Visitors to the region would be well advised to carry the number of the regional Traveline bus information service (☏ +44 871 200 2233) on their phones. The county council has been talking about building a multi-modal transport hub for more than five years.

By train There are direct train links from Hereford to Colwall, Ledbury and Leominster. The local train company i

See

Arthur’s Stone at Dorstone, South of Kington, is a Neolithic dolmen burial chamber on a hill. Yat Rock, near Ross-on-Wye, is a 120-m-high natural rock escarpment with an awesome panoramic view. A forested park area has trails to a high viewpoint with picturesque views of the river. There are five Iron Age hill forts inside the county; two most significant are at Capler near Fownhope, and Dinedor south of Hereford. In 2008, contractors building a new road unearthed a 60-m-long Neolithic ceremonial ‘burial path’ linking the Dinedor hill fort with a bank of the River Wye. Explore the castles. Herefordshire was, until the late Middle Ages, a battle ground between the Welsh and the English. There are 12 extant castles listed in the county. Eastnor Castle near Ledbury is a mock Tudor castle with lovely grounds, a deer park, and plenty to see amongst the Malvern Hills. Visit the museums. Across the county there are 13 museums devoted to local history. Five of them are in Hereford, including the Museum Resource Centre, which holds around 1000 works — oils, watercolours and sketches — by the local artist Brian Hatton (1887-1916). There are also the National Trust’s Berrington Hall near Leominster; Bromyard Local History Centre; Hereford Arc