Offa's Dyke Path () is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's

National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government, and Natural Resources Wales, a Welsh Government, Welsh ...

s and draws walkers from throughout the world. About of the route either follows, or keeps close company with, the remnants of

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke () is a large linear Earthworks (Archaeology), earthwork that roughly follows the England–Wales border, border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa of Mercia, Offa, the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon king of Mer ...

, an earthwork traditionally thought to have been constructed in the late 8th century on the orders of King Offa of Mercia.

Walking trail

Traveling south to north, starting by the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...

at Sedbury, near

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

, and finishing at Prestatyn on the north coast, the walk will take an average walker roughly 12 days to complete. Roughly following the border in parts, and elsewhere the ancient monument of Offa's Dyke, as well as natural features such as the Hatterrall Ridge, the Dyke Path passes through a variety of landscapes. The route traces the eastern edge of the Black Mountains, traverses Clun Forest, the Eglwyseg moors north of

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community (Wales), community, situated on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Val ...

and the Clwydian Range. The route passes through the counties of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

and

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

. The

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

(Marchia Wallie) is a term used to describe this border region between England and Wales, since it was recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

in 1086. It passes through, or close to, the towns of

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye, or simply Hay (; or simply ), is a market town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a book town, "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the s ...

, Kington,

Presteigne Presteigne (; : the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community (Wales), community on the south bank of the River Lugg in Powys, Wales. The town is located on the England–Wales border, which surrounds it to the north, east and south. Nearby ...

, Knighton, Montgomery,

Welshpool Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...

and

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

, then in and around the

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

towns and villages of

, Llandegla, Bodfari and Dyserth. The half-way point of the path is marked by the Offa's Dyke Centre in Knighton (). There used to be around 600

stile A stile is a structure or opening that provides passage for humansrather than animals such as livestockover or through a boundary. Common forms include steps, ladders, or narrow gaps. Stiles are often built in rural areas along footpaths, fen ...

s along the route, but many of these have now been replaced by

kissing gate A kissing gate is a gate that allows people, but not livestock, to pass through. The normal construction is a half-round, rectangular, trapezoidal or V-shaped part-enclosure with the free end of a hinged gate trapped between its arms. When th ...

Route

Places on the route and highlights on or near the trail:

Chepstow to Monmouth

* Sedbury Cliffs:

Severn Bridge The Severn Bridge () is a Controlled-access highway, motorway suspension bridge that spans the River Severn between South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales. It is the original Severn crossing, Severn road crossi ...

Chepstow Castle Chepstow Castle () at Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. Located above cliffs on the River Wye, construction began in 1067 under the instruction of the Normans, Norman Lord William ...

River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...

* View of Tintern Abbey from the Devil's Pulpit * Redbrook: Iron railway bridge *

The Kymin The Kymin (), is a hill overlooking Monmouth, in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located approximately one mile east of Monmouth, on the eastern side of the River Wye and adjacent to the border with the Forest of Dean and England. The summit of the ...

naval temple

Monmouth to Hay-on-Wye

Monnow Bridge Monnow Bridge ( ), in Monmouth, Wales, is the only remaining medieval fortification, fortified river bridge in Great Britain with its gate tower standing on the bridge. Such bridge towers were common across Europe from Middle Ages, medieval t ...

* White Castle * Llangattock Lingoed: St Cadoc's church * Pandy * Hatterrall Ridge is the highest point on the trail at * Black Mountains Monnow Bridge over River Monnow at Monmouth

Monnow Bridge over River Monnow at Monmouth

Llanthony Priory Llanthony Priory () is a partly ruined former Augustinians, Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep-sided once-glaciated valley within the Black Mountains, Wales, Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Mo ...

Hay-on-Wye to Knighton

* Newchurch * Gladestry * Hergest Ridge with wild ponies, * Kington * Hawthorn Hill,

Knighton to Montgomery

* Knighton: Offa's Dyke visitor centre * Panpunton Hill, * Cwm-Sanaham Hill * Llanfair Hill, highest point of the dyke at * Churchtown and Edenhope Hill Knighton in Powys

Montgomery to Llanymynech

* Montgomery * Chirbury * Beacon Ring

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hill fort (Caer Digoll) * Buttington * Alongside

Montgomery Canal The Montgomery Canal (), known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in eastern Powys and northwest Shropshire. The canal runs from the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Junction to Newtown, Powys, Newtown via Llanymynech and ...

and dyke beside

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

* Four Crosses

Llanymynech to Trevor

Llanymynech Llanymynech is a village and former civil parish straddling the Wales-England border, border between Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh language, Welsh for "Llan (placename), L ...

* Moelydd, * Trefonen * Oswestry old racecourse at Racecourse Common * Craignant * Chirk Castle *

Llangollen Canal The Llangollen Canal () is a navigable canals of the United Kingdom, canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, S ...

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (; ) is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen in northeast Wales. The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure is for use by narrowboats and was complet ...

(

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

) over the River Dee

Trevor to Prestatyn

* Trevor *Llangollen Castle * Eglwyseg Crags * Llandegla Forest (with mountain bike trails) * Llandegla * Clwydian Range of hills: **Around Moel-y-Plas, , Moel Llanfair, , Moel Gyw, and Foel Fenlli, ** Moel Famau, and Jubilee Tower at summit **Around Moel Dywyll, , Moel Llys-y-Coed, and Moel Arthur, ** Penycloddiau hill fort at * Bodfari * Rhuallt * Prestatyn: Offa's Dyke Monument on the beach

Promotion and media

Various bodies on either side of the border are collaborating on a

sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for Impacts of tourism, economic, social, and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs o ...

partnership, a principal focus of which is ''Walking with Offa'', both on the trail but also in what has been dubbed Offa's Country i.e. in a corridor along the border. The path was the focus of an episode of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

program '' Britain's Ancient Tracks with Tony Robinson''. In June 2021, during the footpath's 50th year, an Offa's Dyke Rescue Fund was launched to restore eroded and other damaged parts of the route and to buy parts of the path at risk of sustained damage or negligence from local land owners. The fund is working in consultation with

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...

and

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

and the National Trail Unit. On 22 August 2021, the BBC's '' Countryfile'' programme celebrated 50 years of the path.

References

External links

The Offa's Dyke AssociationOffa's Dyke Path on the National Trail websiteOffa's Dyke Path National Trail - Long Distance Walkers Association
{{Authority control Long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom Recreational walks in Wales Footpaths in Shropshire Footpaths in Herefordshire Long-distance footpaths in Wales Footpaths in Powys Long-distance footpaths in England England–Wales border