The stunning walking territory that is the Herefordshire countryside 
The River Wye - popular for canoeing, kayaking and white water rafting
The Hay Literature Festival - one of several great annual events across HerefordshireThings to do in Herefordshire will please a wide range of holiday tastes. Family farm parks, outdoor activity holidays, famous book and arts festival centres and specialist craft and local produce markets are all plentiful across the great outdoors of Herefordshire. This ancient borderland county in the West Midlands flanking the Welsh border is a superb area for walking holidays and contains numerous ancient churches, castles and abbeys, beautiful stately home estates and black and white timber-framed buildings. Norman Romanesque treasure Hereford Cathedral is home to the famous Mappa Mundi medieval map of the world.
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Local produce in Herefordshire includes the county's famous ciders and visitors will find a wide choice of award winning restaurants, traditional heritage inns and tea rooms where the flavours of Herefordshire can be sampled. Accommodation in Herefordshire features stunning timber-framed luxury heritage hotels, beautiful country cottage retreats and farm B&Bs and a wide choice of family caravan and camping parks. Rural Herefordshire is more accessible than you might think. Direct trains to Hereford are from Birmingham International (Airport) and London Paddington. The county is easily accessed off major motorways the M4, M5 and M50.
Herefordshire and the Wye Valley nestle alongside the Welsh border. This great ancient English borderlands area is a superb destination for walking holidays, fine local produce and heritage attractions. Beautiful walking territory is across the region from the Golden Valley in the west which features beautiful abbeys, craft centres and traditional inns to the Wye Valley in the east which is also a mecca for outdoor activity holidays. The circular Herefordshire Trail weaves around the county linking major centres Ross on Wye, Ledbury, Bromyard, Leominster, Kington and Hay on Wye. Kington also sits alongside the great Marches borderland national trail the Offa's Dyke Path. Numerous other walking trails like the Mortimer Trail from Kington and the Black & White Village Trail from the ancient town of Leominster which takes in the beautiful historic black and white houses across the north feature in Herefordshire.
Herefordshire is one of England's great farming regions famous for its hop farming, exceptional lamb and beef, cheeses, vineyards, farm-made ice creams and fine ciders. Visitors can savour the wonderful flavours of Herefordshire in country hotels and B&Bs, award winning restaurants and inns and the extensive choice of farm shops, vineyards and cider mills across the county. Farmers markets and local produce markets in Herefordshire take place in nearly all of Herefordshire's rural towns, villages and in the county's only city Hereford. Arts and crafts shopping in Herefordshire is superb with unique specialist independent shops selling locally made crafts and local produce featuring as standard across the county.
The rural landscape of Herefordshire contains some of England most beautiful low lying landscapes and is a stunning mix of river valleys, patchwork fields and meadows, woodland, Downs and Commons. Leaving its indelible on the Herefordshire landscape is the beautiful River Wye alongside which many of the county's favourite tourist centres sit including Ross-on-Wye, Hay-on-Wye and Hereford. The River Wye in Herefordshire offers stunning riverside walks, river cruises and a range of outdoor activities from canoeing and kayaking to white water rafting. The Golden Valley in the west follows the path of the River Dore alongside which sit stunning villages like Abbeydore, famous for its ancient abbey.
Arts festivals in Herefordshire are particularly strong in world famous book centre Hay-on-Wye overlooking the Black Mountains in the west. The annual Guardian Hay Festival is one of England's top arts and literature festivals which caters outstandingly well for families. Both the Globe arts centre in Hay-on-Wye and The Courtyard arts centre in Hereford are top arts hubs in the county. Main centre and only city Hereford sits right in the centre of Herefordshire. Architectural gems and medieval treasures are here with Hereford Cathedral representing one of the finest examples of Norman Romanesque architecture. The world famous Mappa Mundi medieval map of the world is also on show within Hereford Cathedral's unique Chained Library.
Herefordshire Countryside image contributed by Jonathan Billinger. River Wye image contributed by Angela Jones. Hay Literature Festival image contributed by Peter Curbishley. All images are copyrighted but licensed for further reuse under the Creative Commons License.
