Wye Valley Wye Valley The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; ) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. It is one of the most dramatic and scenic landscapes in Britain. The River Wye () is the fifth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The upper part passes through Rhayader, Builth Wells and Hay-on-Wye, but the area designated as an AONB covers surrounding a stretch lower down the river, from just south of Hereford to Chepstow. This area covers parts of the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, and is recognised in particular for its
Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: "Rhosan ar Wy") is a small market town with a population of 10,700 (according to the 2011 census), in south eastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean. Ross-on-Wye promotes itself as "the birthplace of British tourism". In 1745, the rector, Dr John Egerton, started taking friends on boat trips down the valley from his rectory at Ross. The Wye Valley's attraction was its river scenery, its precipitous landscapes, and its castles and abbeys, which were accessible to seekers of the "Picturesque". In 1782, William Gilpin's book