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Click here for more info >> Offas Dyke During the 8th century, King Offa of Mercia ordered a great dyke to be built, stretching from sea to sea, to mark the western boundary of his kingdom with Wales. In places it is still visible as a bank up to 25 feet high with a deep ditch alongside. Beginning at Chepstow on the Severn Estuary, Offas Dyke follows the course of this ancient earthwork to Prestatyn on the coast of North Wales. It passes through scenery of great beauty and variety ranging from the woodlands of the spectacular Wye gorge to the windswept ridges of the Black Mountains and from the rolling hills and secluded valleys of mid-Wales to the heather-clad Clwydian Hills. Along the way it visits a succession of historic border towns and attractive villages including Monmouth, Hay-on-Wye, Knighton, Montgomery and Welshpool.
Self-guided walking holidays
You can start a self-guided walking holiday on any date you want. If you wish, you can extend the tour by adding extra nights for rest days or sightseeing. Contours
Walking Holidays,
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There
is much of historic interest along the trail: Chepstow Castle, the first
stone fortress built in Wales; the picturesque ruin of Tintern Abbey on
the banks of the Wye, founded in 1131 for monks of the Cistercian Order;
the 13th century gatehoused bridge at Monmouth; the imposing stronghold
of White Castle with its high curtain walls and deep moat; the castle-like
church of St Cadoc's at Llangattock Lingoed, where villagers sheltered
in times of conflict; magnificent Powis Castle at Welshpool; the drum-towered
Marcher fortress of Chirk Castle and the hilltop fort of Dinas Bran overlooking
Llangollen.