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Maintained by JTID © Marches Tours & Talks |
Our Area - The Marches
Marches Tours & Talks – our tour guide association - takes its name from this area of western England, which is called ‘The Marches’ meaning a ‘boundary’ - the boundary between England and Wales. One of the counties in these Marcher lands is Herefordshire – still a secret place known only to those who really seek it out. Here you will see an unspoilt rural landscape at its most beautiful, where you can wander and walk. We have no motorways and no theme parks – just a slower pace of life which gives you time to think and relax.Farming is still at the heart of life in Herefordshire. The land is fertile and sheltered, protected on the east by the Malvern Hills, and on the west by the Black Mountains. Orchards are everywhere, growing apples and pears for our famous ciders and perry. It was here that the world-famous Hereford breed of cattle was developed, and where the wool of the Ryeland sheep brought great wealth. That prosperity has left for us a heritage rich in half-timbered villages, some outstanding medieval churches and some delightful market towns – Bromyard, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye, Kington and Leominster. At the centre of the county is the city of Hereford with its long and distinguished history.
As you travel near the Welsh border in the west of the county, there
is evidence that shows that this quiet and peaceful land was a battleground
for centuries. The Romans fought the Celts and built their roads. Saxons
settled in the marshy lands around our many rivers – the Teme, the
Arrow, the Lugg and the majestic River Wye. Even the Wars of the Roses
and the English Civil War left their mark.
But it is the legacy of the Norman Marcher lords that is everywhere -
in the ruins of castles like Goodrich and tiny Longtown, and in our fascinating
parish churches some with outstanding Romanesque carving. Hereford’s
majestic Norman cathedral dominates the city from its position above the
River Wye. It has a long history of pilgrimage from Saxon times to the
Reformation – first to the shrine of St. Ethelbert, brutally murdered
on the orders of King Offa, then later to the shrine of its other saint
- a former Bishop – St Thomas of Hereford. The cathedral houses
also the world famous Mappa Mundi and the largest Chained Library in the
world.