{"id":1413,"date":"2016-11-01T10:46:22","date_gmt":"2016-11-01T09:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=1413"},"modified":"2016-11-01T10:59:03","modified_gmt":"2016-11-01T09:59:03","slug":"offas-dyke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=1413","title":{"rendered":"Offa’s Dyke"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tWHO WAS KING OFFA AND WHAT WAS HIS DYKE FOR?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"offa\"You have probably heard about Offa’s Dyke – but do you know who King Offa was and why he had a dyke built? Well – Offa was the King of the Mercians, a warrior tribe from central England, from 747 to 796 AD. He had seized power during a time of great unrest caused by friction between Wales and England in the border region. Offa was determined to quell the unruly Welsh and impose his authority and this he did by building one of the most remarkable structures of its time in Britain. It marked the western border of his kingdom and was to act as a defence against the Welsh.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe dyke was constructed at the end of the eighth century and consisted of a great defensive earthwork, with a ditch on the Welsh side and a high bank on the English side. It ran for 140 miles from the banks of the River Severn in the south to the mouth of the River Dee in the north. Because it was built so long ago there is very little known about who actually did the amazing amount of work and what it really looked like. But we do know that it was customary for the English to cut off the ears of every Welshman who was found to the east of the dyke, and for the Welsh to hang every Englishman whom they found to the west of it.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\"offasdyke\"Parts of Offa's Dyke can still be seen in many places. The town of Knighton in Radnorshire has stretches of the dyke on both sides of the town, and at Kington in Herefordshire, there is a well-preserved section of this earthwork. The nearest part of the dyke to Wenvoe is around the Chepstow area and between Chepstow and Tintern. It is only about 40 minutes from Wenvoe to Chepstow by car on a good day, and just another 10 minutes to Tintern so it is an easy day out to go and walk along part of the great Offa’s Dyke. If you do so you will find many good pubs and cafes around that area and in the Wye valley.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tIf you have the time and energy you may wish to walk all of the Offa’s Dyke Path. It is a long-distance footpath following closely the Wales–England border. Opened in 1971, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout the world. Some of the 177-mile (285 km) route either follows, or keeps close company with the visible parts of Offa's Dyke. There are many miles where the dyke was not constructed as the geographical features such as rivers and cliffs made it unnecessary.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tTraveling south to north, starting by the Severn Estuary at Sedbury, near Chepstow, and finishing at Prestatyn on the north coast, the walk will take an average walker roughly 12 days to complete. Following a man-made border and ancient monuments, rather than natural features, the dyke path crosses a variety of landscapes. The route crosses the Black Mountains, the Shropshire Hills, including the many ups and downs of the 'Switchback', the Eglwyseg Moors north of Llangollen and the Clwydian Range.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tIt is of course not necessary to walk it in one long hike, but rather one can break it into bite sized chunks by walking three <\/span><\/span>\"offas\"or four days at a time. There are plenty of high quality B&Bs to stay at overnight on the way, with a room costing on average £65-80 for two people with breakfast. With a little planning one can take the train from Cardiff to various places on the route, walk for a few days and then take the train home again.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tWalking through mid-Wales is particularly pleasant and quiet and it is possible to travel for a whole day without seeing anyone at all. If you do think about doing this walk it is best to go in a dry period so that the ground is not so muddy as to make it hard work. With good waterproof clothing you will not get wet but very muddy boots are heavy and that make it less fun. So make a plan for a long summer hike and remember that walking is very good for body and soul<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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WHO WAS KING OFFA AND WHAT WAS HIS DYKE FOR? You have probably heard about Offa’s Dyke – but do you know who King Offa was and why he had a dyke built? Well – Offa was the King of the Mercians, a warrior tribe from central England, from 747 to 796 AD. He had seized power during a time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-mN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3762,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3762","url_meta":{"origin":1413,"position":0},"title":"September Walks","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Black Hill Ridge - It was a long drive to the beginning of the walk, the final stretch following winding lanes until we reached the car park at the foot of Black Hill. In the north east of the Black mountains we were in Herefordshire north east of Llanveynoe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1100,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=1100","url_meta":{"origin":1413,"position":1},"title":"Wye Valley \u2013 Tintern, Brockweir & Tidenham Chase.","author":"Alan Williams","date":"9th October 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We parked at Tintern Abbey and started by walking across the bridge at Abbey Mill over a full river Wye. The Abbey Mill\u2019s old water wheel was made around 1870 and ran until 1951 when electricity replaced water power. The mill paid an important role in the industrial history of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8549,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8549","url_meta":{"origin":1413,"position":2},"title":"Offa\u2019s Dyke To Cardigan Bay","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st October 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Offa\u2019s Dyke To Cardigan Bay In the 1960s, the war correspondent and journalist Wynford Vaughan Thomas was persuaded by the BBC to climb on a horse and ride from Pembrokeshire to North Wales, with no previous experience. He described the journey in \u201cMadly in all Directions\u201d in 1967, with an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/route.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/route.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/route.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/route.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11608,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=11608","url_meta":{"origin":1413,"position":3},"title":"\u00a0Redbrook \/Offa\u2019s Dyke","author":"Alan Williams","date":"7th May 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Redbrook \/Offa\u2019s Dyke A walk near the Wales\/England border, beginning in Redbrook, Gloucestershire, a typical English riverside village with church, village hall, local shop, post office and playing field. Quite pretty, with clean air, different from how Redbrook was in the past. It is now hard to believe that \u2018it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Picture9x.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Picture9x.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Picture9x.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12326,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12326","url_meta":{"origin":1413,"position":4},"title":"Tidenham","author":"Alan Williams","date":"11th October 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Tidenham We started at Tidenham Chase car park on A4228; the pedestrian wireworks bridge across the river Wye at Tintern is closed for repair for about 9 months from August 2022. So, the plan was to include the Tidenham tunnel in our walk, a clockwise route taking us south to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Picture5.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15578,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15578","url_meta":{"origin":1413,"position":5},"title":"Brecon & Llanthony Priory","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Brecon\u00a0 This was a delightful walk, we parked north of Brecon and took a footpath through the cathedral grounds. The mixed woodland (oak, beech, hazel and alder trees) of Priory Groves borders the river Honddu, and is about a mile long. 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