Scenic Point in Herefordshire

Hay-on-Wye on the Welsh-English border in Powys is the international capital of second-hand books, a small town that has developed since the 1960s under the inspiration of the eccentric Richard Booth from a declining market town into the most celebrated literary destination in Britain, its streets lined with dozens of independent bookshops containing millions of volumes that attract bibliophiles from across the world throughout the year and host the internationally celebrated Hay Festival each May and June. The combination of the bookshops, the festival and the beautiful landscape of the Wye Valley and Black Mountains provides a destination of extraordinary cultural and natural richness. Richard Booth's declaration of Hay as an independent kingdom in 1977, with himself as King, was the most extravagant of the many provocations with which he promoted the town's book trade, but the underlying commercial vision was entirely serious and the bookshop town concept he pioneered has been replicated in communities across Europe and beyond. The original Booth's Bookshop and the many independent bookshops of various specialisms provide the framework for days of browsing and purchasing that attract visitors who regard the bookshops as the primary destination. The Hay Festival, founded in 1988 and now one of the most important literary festivals in the world, brings the world's finest writers, journalists, scientists and public figures to Hay for ten days each year in a programme of talks, discussions and performances that consistently attracts global media attention and the description from Bill Clinton of the Woodstock of the mind.

Symonds Yat Rock is one of the finest viewpoints in England, a limestone crag towering 150 metres above the River Wye on the border between Herefordshire and Gloucestershire at a point where the river makes an extraordinary horseshoe meander around a thickly wooded peninsula below. The viewpoint has been famous for the quality of its panorama since at least the eighteenth century when the Wye Tour, an early form of organised scenic tourism, established the Wye Valley as one of the great picturesque landscapes of Britain. The view from the rock encompasses one of the most dramatic river landscapes in England. The Wye curves below in a great loop, its green-brown water reflecting the sky and the dense woodland that clothes the valley sides. The cliffs and hanging woods of the Forest of Dean rise on the Gloucestershire side while the rolling Herefordshire farmland extends on the other, and the sheer scale of the valley as seen from this height makes the effort of the walk up from the car park entirely worthwhile. On clear days the Brecon Beacons and the mountains of mid-Wales are visible on the horizon. The rock and surrounding area are managed by Forestry England within the Forest of Dean, and the viewpoint is accessible via several walking routes from the two car parks in the valley below. The approach through the mature mixed woodland of the Forest of Dean is pleasant and the ascent, while steep in places, is well-managed with steps and handrails on the most difficult sections. Perhaps the most significant wildlife spectacle at Symonds Yat is the pair of peregrine falcons that has nested on the cliff face here every year since 1982. During the spring and early summer breeding season, the RSPB maintains a staffed observation point near the viewpoint with telescopes trained on the nest site, allowing visitors to watch the fastest bird in the world rearing its chicks at close quarters. The observation point is one of the most visited peregrine watching sites in Britain. The Wye Valley Walk and the Offa's Dyke Path both pass near the rock, providing opportunities for longer walking in this exceptional landscape.