Wye Valley Walk

The Wye Valley Walk (Welsh: Llwybr Dyffryn Gwy) is a long distance footpath in Wales and England following the course of the River Wye.

History

In 1975 the Wye Valley Walk opened with a 14 miles (23 km) stretch between St. Arvans and Monmouth. Further stretches were added, leading to it becoming a 34-mile (55 km) footpath by 1981. During the 1980s, gaps between Ross-on-Wye, Hay-on-Wye and Rhayader were integrated into the pathway, forming a 112 miles (180 km) walk reaching from near the river's mouth at Chepstow in Monmouthshire, to Rhayader in Mid Wales.

In September 2002, the route was finally extended to start or finish in Coed Hafren, having passed within viewing distance of the source of the River Wye on Plynlimon near Aberystwyth, a total of 136 miles (219 km).

The route

The Wye Valley Walk is marked out by circular yellow waymark arrows, finger posts, and signs showing the path's logo, a leaping salmon. Most of the route follows Public Rights of Way. Some parts are permissive paths where owners have agreed for them to be used. Parts of Plynlimon are open countryside in which there is a right to roam established by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Wye Valley

The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; Welsh: Dyffryn Gwy) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. It is one of the most dramatic and scenic landscape areas in southern Britain.

The River Wye (Welsh: Afon Gwy) is the fifth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The upper part of the river passes through the settlements of Rhayader, Builth Wells and Hay-on-Wye, but the area designated as an AONB surrounds only the 72-mile stretch lower down the river, from just south of the city of Hereford to Chepstow.

This area covers parts of the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, and is recognised in particular for its limestone gorge scenery and dense native woodlands, as well as its wildlife, archaeological and industrial remains. It is also historically important as one of the birthplaces of the modern tourism industry. The area is predominantly rural, and many people make a living from tourism, agriculture or forestry. Ross-on-Wye is the only town within the AONB itself, but Hereford, Monmouth, Coleford and Chepstow lie just outside its boundaries.