British Highways and Byways from a Motor Car: Being a Record of a Five Thousand Mile Tour in England, Wales and ScotlandMurphy, Thos. D. (Thomas Dowler)
History
British Highways and Byways from a Motor Car: Being a Record of a Five Thousand Mile Tour in England, Wales and Scotland
Murphy, Thos. D. (Thomas Dowler)
Great Britain -- Description and travel; Great Britain -- Maps
Despite its present atmosphere of peace and quietude, Hereford saw
strenuous times in the fierce warfare which raged between the English
and Welsh, though few relics of those days remain. The streets are
unusually wide and with few exceptions the buildings are modern.
Surrounding the town is a stretch of green, level meadow, upon which
graze herds of the red and white cattle whose fame is wider than that of
their native shire. No doubt there are many familiar with the sleek
Herefords who have no idea from whence they take their name.
Our hotel, the Green Dragon, had recently been re-furnished and
brightened throughout, and its excellent service was much better than
we often found in towns the size of Hereford. Its well planned motor
garage, just completed, showed that its proprietors recognized the
growing importance of this method of touring.
Our run from Hereford up the Wye Valley to the sea, we agreed was one of
our red-letter days. We passed through greatly varied scenery from the
fertile, level country around Hereford to the rough, broken hills near
the river's source, but the view was always picturesque in the highest
degree. The road runs along the edge of the hills, and the glorious
valley with its brawling river spread out before us almost the entire
day. At times we ran through forests, which cover the immense parks
surrounding the country estates along the river. We saw many fine
English country-seats, ranging from old, castellated structures to
apparently modern mansions. There are also a number of ruins along the
valley, each with its romantic legends. At Hay, on the hill overlooking
the town, is the castle, partly in ruins and partly in such state of
repair as to be the summer home of the family that owns it. A little
farther, upon a knoll directly overhanging the river, are crumbling
piles of stone where once stood Clifford Castle, the home of Fair
Rosamond, whose melancholy story Tennyson has woven into one of his
dramas.
As we advanced farther up the valley, the country grew wilder and more
broken and for many miles we ran through the towering hills that pass
for mountains in Wales. These were covered with bright-green verdure to
their very tops, and the flocks of sheep grazing everywhere lent an
additional charm to the picture. At the foot of the hills the road
follows the valleys with gentle curves and easy grades. The Wye dwindles
to the merest brook, and some miles before we reached the coast, we
passed the head waters of the river and followed a brook flowing in an
opposite direction.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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