20walks/40 pages

The borderland between England and Wales, also known as Y Mers or the Welsh Marches, is a rich and diverse landscape that offers a wonderful range of walks from sylvan river valleys to high hills crowned with historic hillforts and burial grounds of the early settlers. It is also a place where almost every village possesses the earthworks of a medieval castle, and more often than not a church too, built by the Normans after the invasion of 1066. The history and culture of the borderland is writ large on the landscape and that is one of its endearing features, for change has been slow in these parts. This book is a sister publication to "Walks in the Borders North" and in a somewhat arbitrary fashion we have included walks from Craven Arms in Shropshire into the southern Marches the counties of Herefordshire, Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire and dipping into Powys. This is a landscape which includes wild moorland, the Black Mountains and the shapely summits of Hay Bluff, Sugar Loaf and Skirrid, which can be readily seen for miles. It is also one which has dozens of beautiful rivers: the Teme, Lugg, Arrow, Monnow, Usk and Wye, waters which are in need of protection as they are havens for wildlife. In recent times the southern Marches have also begun to market their local produce and beverages to good effect; Abergavenny, Hereford and Ludlow are well known for their food festivals. The cider and perry pear orchards of old are also a feature of this part of the world, and you'll see several traditional farm orchards on these walks. There are also extensive water meadows grazed by livestock, and hillside slopes by sheep, which give that timeless rural feeling to the area. A great area for new walking adventures.