Escape to the Golden Valley

From heavenly green pastures to the high windswept ridges above, discover a peaceful landscape marked by the romantic ruins of ancient border struggles.

In the compelling, bittersweet film Shadowlands, CS Lewis (played by Anthony Hopkins) has a picture of the Golden Valley hanging on his study wall. It starts the film as his image of heaven, but by the end of his fated love affair with American poet Joy Gresham (Debra Winger), who dies of cancer, it has become a symbol for elusive joy. It’s a potent image to hang around the neck of any destination.

The valley in question runs south-east from Hay-on-Wye to the Hereford-Abergavenny road, between the frowning flank of the Black Mountains and the sumptuousness of the Wye Valley. At first sight, it is British countryside without any of the bells and whistles; no unforgettable views, eminent ruins or tumbling cataracts, just an undulating mesh of lanes cast over a tissue of farmland. Its name derives, not from any glamorous physical characteristics, but from the name of the river – the Dore – which runs through it (d’or meaning ‘of gold’ in French).

And yet, once you’ve been there a couple of days, you begin to appreciate the understated power of the place. It stands alone, with its own sense of self-sufficiency. A long history of border raids and medieval fortification against the marauding Welsh has conferred a certain independence of mind on those who live here. If you climb up onto the darkly forbidding flank to where Offa’s Dyke marks the Welsh border, and look east with the evening sun at your back, the valley looks fruitful and even golden, especially in late summer and early autumn.
In the wide valley area is some of the finest British walking, classic church architecture and traditional cooking. And then there are potential encounters with the sort of inspirational British eccentricity that only flourishes, like the most delicate of wild flowers, in an unsullied, unselfconscious landscape. They may not relish being singled out, but I’d mention Hedley Wilding and his front garden petrol station in Vowchurch, the Gwatkin brothers’ farm shop at Abbey Dore or the hill farmers of the neighbouring Olchon Valley, who are straight out of the Bruce Chatwin novel On the Black Hill – a short list to which every visitor to the Golden Valley will be able to add.

Going to town
Although they’re not in the Golden Valley itself, you’re unlikely to come all this way and miss out on a visit to the city of Hereford or Hay-on-Wye. Hay-on-Wye, to the north, is an overgrown village, now famous for its annual literary festival, with rambling, cottagey streets so richly endowed with bookshops that it is hard to conceive how any of them makes a profit. The literary interest has brought delicatessens and herbalists and kept the gentlemen’s outfitters in business.

By contrast, Hereford is a handsome Georgian city, given great distinction by the presence of the sturdy 12th-century cathedral. A new museum houses the Mappa Mundi, the most complete surviving map of the world from the 13th century, worth seeing for the exotic destinations that featured on the scribe’s horizon in those days, and the wonderful illustrations of disturbing creatures down either side. Visit www.herefordcathedral.org for opening times.
 
Sacred sights
In the Valley itself, two names stand out as memorable examples of ecclesiastical architecture. Dore Abbey is the only former Cistercian abbey church still in use and, although it was badly shorn of most of its structure during the dissolution of the monasteries, there are still reminders of late 13th-century grandeur, and the footprint of its former glory lies on the ground around.
By contrast, the mostly 12th-century church at Clodock, just south of Longtown, has been left completely untouched. This small flagstoned gem remains wonderfully atmospheric inside, with tiny Norman windows in the northern wall, ancient box pews and a 17th-century orchestral gallery.
Other notable stone structures are the 12th-century motte and bailey castle at Longtown, originally built by one Walter de Lacy to provide protection against border-crossing ruffians for his livestock, wives and children, and for 800 fee-paying villagers. And the Valley’s oldest stonework is Arthur’s Stone, a Neolithic burial chamber situated on a ridge near Dorstone with wonderful views of the surrounding landscape.
 
Farm fresh
Head north up the B4347 towards Peterchurch from Abbey Dore and, after about three miles, you come to one of the area’s cultural experiences, the Abbey Dore Farm Shop (01981 550258). It’s run by the Gwatkin family in a style reminiscent of The Darling Buds of May. In the shop, you can buy boiled fruitcake, the Gwatkins’ own cider, local beers and excellent beef and lamb. Outside, among the barrels in the yard, geese, dogs and aged relatives watch the shoppers.

On the march
The Valley is laced with footpaths. On a dry, clear day, venture north up the Olchon Valley’s Black Hill, whose ridge footpath joins up with Offa’s Dyke after three miles. Once you reach the Dyke, in a bleak, peaty world inhabited by partridge, grouse and merlin, turn south and you’ll eventually come upon an intersection with a pile of stones, where the path dives back into the pastoral valley below. The total walking distance is around eight miles.
Less arduous, more bucolic and with equally stunning views is the seven-mile route up from Dorstone and past Arthur’s Stone to Merbach Hill, which provides a vantage point over the Wye Valley. There are various alternatives to follow on the way back, but the energetic can continue on to Bredwardine, the burial place of Victorian country diarist Francis Kilvert, who was vicar at the Norman church that stands just outside the village.

Places to eat
● Bridge Inn, Michaelchurch Escley (01981 510646). Traditional pub in a lovely riverside location, with a woodburning stove and local beers and ciders. Homemade meals using locally sourced meats.
● Café @ All Saints, All Saints Church, High Street, Hereford (01432 370415; cafeatallsaints.co.uk). Match a free-thinking vicar with a condemned church, and the result is this award-winning café and gallery serving vegetarian cuisine.
● Food for Thought, Peterchurch (01981 550180). Good food – potato pancakes with smoked salmon, pork fillet in cider and cream – served with a minimum of fuss in a tile-floored bistro on the High Street.
● Picnic spot: Buy your cheese, pastries and cider from Hope’s of Longtown (01873 860444; hopesoflongtown.co.uk), a shop that sources its supplies from the Valley, and then drive to the car park at the foot of the Black Hill and climb the short distance to the first peak. Views in all directions and shelter from every prevailing wind.

Places to stay
● Allt Yr Ynys, Walterstone, near Abergavenny (01873 890307; www.allthotel.co.uk). Comfortable country house hotel in a 16th-century manor with its own indoor swimming pool and a walled garden.
● Castle House Hotel, Castle Street, Hereford (01432 356321; www.castlehse.co.uk). Sophisticated accommodation in parquet-floored suites draped in brocades and tapestries. It’s just a short stroll away from the cathedral.
● Olchon Court, Llanveynoe, Longtown (01873 860356; www.golden-valley.co.uk/olchoncourt). Wonderful 14th-century farmhouse B&B that once provided sanctuary for Sir John Oldcastle, Shakespeare’s model for Falstaff. It has been restored with true dedication by Jean and Tony Carter.
● The Old Post Office, Llanigon, Hay-on-Wye (01497 820008; www.oldpost-office.co.uk). Colourful, creative, vegetarian B&B in a building that started life in the 17th century as the village pub.
Tyn Cwm, Little Llanafon Farm, Dorstone (01981 550100). A two-bedroom self-catering cottage, all on ground level. The former farmyard is now a craft studio, but chickens still roam.
 

Maps and books
Ordnance Survey Explorer (1:25,000) OL13, Brecon Beacons National Park, eastern area, (£7.49).
Discovering the Golden Valley and Black Mountains Countryside (£2) is a detailed booklet, including a map, available from local tourist information centres.
An audio guide, The Golden Valley and Beyond (£4.99), part of Herefordshire’s Hidden Extras series, is available from tourist information entres.

Tourist information
● King Street, Hereford (01432 268430; www.visitorlinks.com)
● Oxford Road, Hay-on-Wye (01497 820144; www.hay-on-wye.co.uk)
● The Golden Valley and Black Mountains Experience, (www.golden-valley.co.uk), A good local listings guide, including where to buy local produce.

Photo: View over Scotland Bank in the Golden Valley, courtesy of Visit Herefordshire. Visit www.visitherefordshire.co.uk for more information.

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