Hay-on-Wye the north-easternmost tip of the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains. The town is just on the Welsh side of the border with Herefordshire, England, here defined by the Dulas Brook. Where the brook joins the River Wye just north of the town, the border continues northwards along the river. The Wye was the boundary between the former counties and districts of Radnorshire and Brecknockshire. The adjacent village of Cusop lies on the English side of the Dulas Brook. The nearest city is Hereford, county town of Herefordshire, some to the east. The Royal Mail depot
England–Wales border England and Wales therefore passes along Monmouthshire's eastern boundaries with Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, essentially along the River Monnow and River Wye. The first legislation applying solely to Wales since the 16th century was passed in 1881. Subsequently, the border between England and Wales has taken on increasing legal and political significance. In 1964 a separate department of state was established for Wales – the Welsh Office – which assumed an increasing range of administrative responsibilities from Whitehall. By 1992, the Welsh Office oversaw housing, local government, roads, historic buildings, health, education, economic development, agriculture, fisheries and urban regeneration, although the