Marches Way
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Marches Way | |
|---|---|
 The trail follows the River Usk near Abergavenny |
|
| Length | 320 miles (515 km) |
| Location | Wales & Midlands, England |
| Trailheads | Welsh Marches Chester |
| Use | Hiking |
| Season | All year |
Marches Way is a waymarked long distance footpath in the United Kingdom. It runs 320 kilometres / 200 miles through the Welsh–English borderlands, traditionally known as the Welsh Marches and links the cities of Chester in the north and Cardiff in the south.
[edit] The Route
The route starts at Chester at Chester railway station and then follows the valley of the River Dee, Wales southwards before turing east into Malpas, Cheshire and down to Whitchurch, Shropshire before heading through Shrewsbury, Leominster, Abergavenny and the lower River Usk valley in Monmouthshire, Wales to Cardiff.
It links many of the most important historic sites on both sides of the border, drawing together the history from Roman times, passing through two important Roman forts, and the turbulent medieval periods when the border lands were contentious power bases vied over by Marcher Lords, Welsh princes and the scenes of rebellions, bloodletting and political power-broking by many of the regions historical characters.
It also covers some varying terrain from the Cheshire Plain to the Shropshire Hills and the mountains of South Wales.
The route is waymarked with black and yellow waymarker discs.[1]
[edit] References
A guidebook 'The Marches Way' is available from bookshops.
