The Marches area is one of the richest there is in historical artefacts. The area was occupied by the Romans and they like everybody else had to attempt to subjugate the local people and like everybody else found this difficult because of their fierce independence and their unique partnership with the land in which they lived. Therefore there is evidence of Roman fortifications and a criss cross of their famous roads. Even before the Romans came the area was permanently occupied since a short while after the last Ice Age and there are many so called prehistoric relics in the form of Hill Forts, Burial Chambers and their like.

Some four centuries after the Romans had left these shores King Offa of Mercia created the Dyke that forms the basis for today’s path as a boundary marker between his Kingdom and the lands to the west.

By the time the Norman’s came to stay (uninvited) border disputes were again a fact of life for local people and considerable numbers of Castles were constructed, destroyed and reconstructed to protect Norman ‘property’ and to serve as bases for punitive expeditions into the whole of Wales. These Castles were largely still operational when Owain Glyndwr rose to ascendancy, however briefly, some 300 years later and he occupied some, destroyed others and generally made his presence felt through the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV.

The Civil War also made an impact on the area although by the 17th century most Castles had fallen into disuse some were rebuilt to serve as bases for troops during this conflict. By this time the Fortified Manor House, some examples of which still exist, most notably at Stokesay, Tretower and Lower Brockhampton, had superseded the Castle and was itself already being superseded by the Country Manor and the Stately Home.

Robert Francis Kilvert (1840 - 1879), the 19th century priest and diarist, lived and worked as a curate at Clyro a mile outside our local town of Hay-on-Wye before being appointed to the living at Bredwardine only months before his untimely death at the age of 39. Francis was an enthusiastic walker in the area which he did out of necessity and for obvious pleasure and we can follow routes used by him although, these days we cannot return by train as he often did.

The Town of Hay-on- Wye, only 5 miles from our base at Cwmbach, has long enjoyed a world-wide reputation as the place to buy second hand books and thus is a Mecca for people with an interest in reading up on any subject under the sun. Over the past 20 or so years the town has developed a Literary Festival which takes place over 9 days leading up to the Spring Bank Holiday weekend and this also now enjoys an international reputation.