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Tours > Wales > Hereford
Hereford and the Wye Valley
The River Wye begins, as does the Severn, in the hills of Plynlimon, in west Wales; for 150 miles it meanders through beautiful mid-Wales before daring to cross over the man-made border into England at Hay on Wye. After a little loop northwards, as if rebelling against its fate in a strange land, it then turns south, giving its pleasure to the border towns of Hereford, Ross on Wye and Symons Yat before coming home again to recross the border at Monmouth. It then continues its journey south to the Severn Estuary, passing Tintern and Chepstow.
 Close to the border with Wales, Hereford is an English Cathedral City located on the River Wye as it begins its southern loop to the Severn Estuary. The ancient capital of Mercia, Hereford boasts a fine cathedral dating from the 12th century, and streets lined with well-preserved 17th and 18th century houses. It is also home to the world's biggest cider-making plant. A 15th century stone bridge arches over the River Wye. In the Cathedral is found the late 13th century Mappae Mundi, a map of the world showing Jerusalem as the centre of a flat earth.
With the adjoining English cities Worcester and Gloucester, the city of Hereford shares (every third year) the Three Choirs Festival. To the south of the city lies a tract of land named the District of Archenfield, a former Welsh enclave that remained as an island of Welshness surrounded by Saxon settlements until late Norman times. In the various stained glass windows, Hereford Cathedral contains no less than five references to the patron saint of Wales, St. David.
Hereford can be reached on the A40 from Gloucester and then the A49 beginning at Ross on Wye.
Next Stop: Tintern Abbey
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