Herefordshire

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Herefordshire Holiday and Tourism Information

From this page you can follow the links to Herefordshire holiday accommodation, activities, attractions, historic sites, travel information, and general tourism info for the area.

To fully explore the cider-making county of Herefordshire requires a certain level of fitness, although this has nothing to do with the region’s favourite brain-numbing tipple.

It’s just that this is the ideal place to abandon the motor car and enjoy some of its more calorie-busting activities. Here you can happily go white-water rafting, take out a canoe or kayak, walk, ride, climb, abseil, fish or even try your hand at caving.

This Midlands county offers the best of all worlds, from sedate, pastoral scenery to dramatic river valleys, quaint villages packed with pretty black-and-white buildings, mighty castles - and heart-pumping exercise!

Black Hill - Photo © Richard Webb
Black Hill - Photo: Richard Webb CCL

Lying on the Welsh border, it also offers more than 200 historic gardens, a majestic 11th century Norman cathedral, a beautiful capital city and a rare sense of quietude.

River Cruiser on the River Wye - Photo: Pam Brophy CCL

Among significant places of interest are the Wye Valley, dominated by a gorge at Symond’s Yat, the ravishing Malvern Hills, the mountain-flanked Golden Valley and the 8th century defensive earthwork Offa’s Dyke.

Perhaps its two greatest treasures – housed at Hereford Cathedral - are the world’s largest chained library and the 13th century Mappa Mundi, one of the earliest maps. The latter was created at a time when Jerusalem was considered the centre of the known world.

Some of the greatest landscape designers worked in the county, including Lancelot ‘Capability' Brown and Humphrey Repton, and Herefordshire was the epicentre of the so-called ‘Picturesque' movement which swept Europe in the 19th century.

The visitor’s first impression of this bucolic landscape is of a backwater locked in a time-warp and hardly industrialised. Indeed, it is ripe with pastures and fruit-laden orchards. In spring comes fragrant blossom while autumn is awash with the berries of mistletoe.

Many of the region’s villages have a timeless quality but one of them, Eardisland, is widely thought of as the prettiest village in the Midlands.

The glorious River Wye meanders through the county, springing up from the Black Mountains in the south. Constantly changing, it is a Mecca for water-sports enthusiasts. An important stop-over is Hay-on-Wye, which is now a major centre for bookshops and hosts the International Festival of Literature.

Symonds Yat rock and the Wye Valley - Photo: Pam Brophy CCL

In the east of the county, the Malvern Hills run along the border with Worcestershire, rising dramatically from rolling countryside. They inspired the Worcestershire-born composer Edward Elgar and offer not only breathtaking views but one of the finest walks in England.

Bridge over the River Arrow at Eardisland - Photo: Colin Smith CCL

One of the summits is the 1,000ft Herefordshire Beacon, topped by the Iron Age hill fort ‘British Camp’. According to legend it was here that the Romans captured the heroic British chieftain Caractacus, king of the Catuvellauni.

The great Saxon city of Hereford was one of the first towns to be founded in England following the departure of the Romans. It was turned into a fortified settlement by Alfred the Great and by the 10th century had its own mint and a weekly market. Later it was guarded by a Norman castle and a city wall.

During the Middle Ages the region became a key centre for the wool and leather industries, gaining a well-earned reputation for brewing in the 17th century. Even today its most famous company is the cider-maker H.P.Bulmer.

The noted beauty spot of Golden Valley, through which the gentle River Dore runs, lies near the border with Wales and is largely an unspoiled landscape with many footpaths and bridleways. Ruined Abbey Dore is a former Cistercian monastery built in the 12th century.

Other key historic buildings include the sumptuous stately home of Berrington Hall; 12th century Goodrich Castle; mock-Gothic Eastnor Castle, and the remarkable Hellens Manor. Built in the 11th century, the Manor boasts haunted rooms and a wealth of period furnishings, paintings and decorations with heirlooms of Ann Boleyn, Mary Tudor and Charles 1.

Hereford Cathedral and Wye Bridge - Photo: Colin Smith CCL

The famous earthwork Offa’s Dyke was constructed around 785AD by King Offa of Mercia to create a new frontier with Wales. It ran north-to-south from the mouth of the River Dee to the mouth of the River Severn, and some 80 miles of it still survive.

Tourist Information Centres:

BROMYARD
Heritage Centre, 1 Rowberry St, Bromyard, Herefordshire, HR7 4DU
Tel: 01885 482038

HAY-ON-WYE
Tourist Information Centre, Oxford Rd, Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR3 5DG
Tel: 01497 820144

HEREFORD
Tourist Information Centre, 1 King St, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR4 9BW
Tel: 01432 268430

KINGTON
Tourist Information Centre, 2 Mill St, Kington, Herefordshire, HR5 3BQ
Tel: 01544 230778

LEDBURY
Tourist Information Centre, 3 The Homend, Ledbury, Herefordshire, HR8 1BN
Tel: 01531 636147

LEOMINSTER
Tourist Information Centre, 1 Corn Square, Leominster, Herefordshire, HR6 8LR
Tel: 01568 616460

QUEENSWOOD (in Season)
Queenswood Country Park, Dinmore Hill, Leominster, Herefordshire, HR6 0PY
Tel: 01568 797842

ROSS-ON-WYE
Tourist Information Centre, Edde Cross St, Ross-On-Wye, Herefordshire, HR2 7JL
Tel: 01432 260666

Useful Links:

Herefordshire & Wye Valley www.visitherefordshire.co.uk

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Tourist Net UK Ltd, Hanover House, 87 Hassell Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 1AX Tel: 01782 719900