Wye Valley

The Wye Valley (

The upper part of the valley is in the

The lower part of the valley is designated as the Wye Valley National Landscape, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, protected as an internationally important landscape. This designation covers covers 326 square kilometres (126 sq mi) surrounding a 72-kilometre (45 mi) stretch of the river, from just south of Hereford to Chepstow in the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire.^[1] In addition to its landscape value, the area is recognised in for its wildlife, archaeological and industrial remains.

The varied landscapes of the Wye Valley can be explained by underlying rocks and structures, and how ice and then the river and tributary streams have acted upon them through time.

Close to Hereford, the geology of the area around the village of Woolhope is largely made up of Silurian limestones, shales and sandstones. To the south of this, the Herefordshire lowlands are largely underlain by red mudstones and sandstones, producing a redder soil. These rocks are softer than the limestones elsewhere, so the river created more meanders, a wider floodplain, and a gentler and more rolling landscape. Around Symonds Yat, limestones and red sandstones meet. This leads to a landscape of hills and plains, as well as substantial meanders which have formed impressive river cliffs.

The Lower Wye landscape was formed by the river acting on a series of layers of rock that dip towards the Forest of Dean. Here the river has incised into the margins of the Old Red Sandstone plateau to form a gorge with substantial river cliffs. The steepest parts of the Wye gorge are cut through the Carboniferous Limestone. Here the combined action of the river, natural joints in the rocks and quarrying have exposed many vertical faces, particularly between Tintern and Chepstow.

Geological interest extends underground, and there are many

In September 2006 it was reported that one colony of lesser horseshoe bats in the area had reached record numbers, with some 890 bats in a small stone barn (599 adults and 291 pups).[9]

River Wye at Lancaut looking towards Wintour's Leap

The valley has been inhabited for at least 12,000 years. Caves near

Watling Street ran through the Roman settlements of Ariconium (just north of modern Ross-on-Wye) and Blestium (Monmouth), and a number of other small Roman settlements are known. The first evidence of the exploitation of iron and coal in the valley is found in the Roman period, with iron working known from sites at Monmouth, Trellech and elsewhere, as well as in the adjoining Forest of Dean. The medieval boroughs of Goodrich and Chepstow, at each end of the Wye Gorge, may have originally been established at this time.

Closely following the River Wye,

When the Normans conquered the region in the 11th century they immediately built major castles at Chepstow and Monmouth to defend the territory. Smaller castles were built at St Briavels, Ruardean, Goodrich and Wilton Castle.

Iron has been made in the Wye Valley since Roman times, using the ready supply of timber, good quality ore and abundant charcoal from the Forest of Dean. The river provided transport for the raw materials and finished product, and with the introduction of the blast furnace in the 16th century, its tributaries began to be used for water power.

The first brass made in Britain was founded in the Angidy valley – which joins the Wye at Tintern – in 1566. Wire-making followed, with water mills situated on all the tributaries of the lower Wye.^[10] The area resounded to the noise and smoke of heavy industry for the next 400 years and gave rise to many pioneering industries. For instance, Whitebrook became famous for paper milling, when wallpaper became a fashionable way to decorate houses. At Redbrook, copper works were established by 1691, and a century later the village became one of the world's major tinplate manufacturing centres. This industry survived until the 1960s and was renowned for producing the thinnest, highest quality plate in the world. The Lydbrook valley was also a thriving centre for metal industries, such as the manufacture of telegraph cables.

The valley woodlands were carefully managed to produce mature trees for shipbuilding, or by coppicing for charcoal, and to provide bark for tanning. The valley industries were also massive consumers of timber. A ship of 150 tons, for example, required 3,000 wagonloads of timber to complete – and in 1824, 13 ships were launched at Brockweir alone.

The river was the economic backbone of the region, providing an important means of transport, trade and communication. In late medieval times, salmon weirs hindered free passage on the river, but the Wye Navigation Act in 1662 enabled the river's potential to be developed. By 1727 shallow draught boats could get upstream beyond Hereford, and a significant shipbuilding industry developed at Monmouth, Llandogo, Brockweir and Chepstow. However, by 1835 it was stated that the Wye "can scarcely be considered a commercial highway" above Monmouth, and by the 1880s Brockweir bridge was the effective upper limit of navigation.

As the 19th century progressed, the valley's industries gradually declined, and management of the woodlands lessened when there was no longer a ready market for their products.

The Wye Valley witnessed the birth of British tourism in the 18th century. The earliest known appreciation of the area's spectacular beauty can be dated to the beginning of the century, when John Kyrle developed the 'Prospect' at Ross-on-Wye, and it was later mentioned in verse by Alexander Pope.

In 1745,

The first of Britain's great landscapes to be 'discovered', the Wye Valley's particular attraction was its river scenery, and the many guidebooks, engravings and paintings ensured a continuing steady stream of visitors. Viewpoints were specially constructed, including the Kymin above Monmouth, with its round house giving panoramic views across the town. Another highlight for travellers was the cliff ascent and walks at Piercefield. However, most of the truly 'Picturesque' scenes were sketched from river level, with the shimmering water as the foreground for the forests and cliffs behind, and the castle and abbey ruins.

In 1813 the Monmouth Tramroad linked Coalway (near Coleford), Redbrook and Monmouth. This was the world's first railed-way to make specific powers in its Act of Parliament to allow for the charging of fares to passengers.

The standard gauge Wye Valley Railway line between Chepstow, Monmouth and Ross opened much later, in 1876. This made the valley more accessible and popular to tourists. In the early 20th century, crowds of up to 1300 would travel on a special train journey to see Tintern Abbey on the night of the harvest moon. The line closed to passengers in 1959, although sections remain as bridleways and footbridges.^[12] There are now main line railway stations at Hereford and Chepstow.

The road network in the lower Wye valley remained essentially undeveloped during the rise of the Valley's industrialisation, until a series of

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 National Landscape itself, but Hereford, Monmouth, Coleford and Chepstow lie just outside its boundaries.

In 2023, all AONBs in the UK were rebranded as National Landscapes, though still keep their designation as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.^[13]

The navigation of the tidal part of the Wye (below Bigsweir) comes under the control of the Gloucester Harbour Trustees as Competent Harbour Authority.

• Biblins Bridge
• Kingstone Brewery, Meadow Farm, Tintern
• Wye Valley Brewery
• Wye Valley Walk
• List of places in the Wye Valley

Media related to Bigsweir Woods at Wikimedia Commons

• Official site for the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
• The Picturesque Wye Tour
• Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust
• Natural England
• Bat Conservation Trust
• Tourist information on the Wye Valley
• Wye Valley & Vale of Usk Visitor Guide 2010
• Wye Valley Railway – history and photos
• The Wye Valley: Riverside of the Romantics (by Nigel Richardson), article from the travel section of the Daily Telegraph, pub. 23 Sep 2008