The Golden Valley

Idyllic landscapes and peaceful countryside.

At the foot of the Black Mountains is the Golden Valley, beautifully golden with daffodils in the spring and rich autumn shades later in the year. The valley follows the course of the River Dore from Hay-on-Wye (The world's largest second hand book town) in the north to Monmouthshire in the south.

Castles abound across the Valley, once defending England against the Welsh raiders that used the valley to harry Norman estates during the area's turbulent historic past. A castle was built to command the valley but little remains of this stronghold on the isolated hill at Snodhill.

An ancient tomb known as Arthur's Stone lies just north of the village of Dorstone and south of Bredwardine an area later described in the diaries of the Rev. Francis Kilvert.

Today, the unspoilt, soft rural landscape with it's Herefordshire cattle, apple orchards and fields of corn make for a slower pace of life and this part of the country is ideal for a relaxing break at any time of the year. There are many footpaths to walk crossing rich red agricultural land and the quiet roads and lanes are excellent for scenic drives offering panoramic views of breath-taking landscapes - always with the spectacular backdrop of the Welsh Black Mountains.