Offa's Dyke is a 130-mile ditch and rampart that runs, more or less, from the River Dee to the River Wye, roughly drawing a line between Mercia (now England) and Powys (now Wales). The current border actually follows it in some places. There is very scant historical or other documentation about it. According to tradition, it was built by Offa, king of Mercia, in the 8th century. It is not completely continuous, skipping over or around natural barriers. It is thought to be a defensive structure built by the Mercians, since the rampart is always on the Mercian side and natural barriers, e.g., hills, always favor the defenders to the east. Some scholars apparently think it goes back to Roman times; others think it was built in sections over a number of centuries. Whoever is right, it is still there and something any armchair archaeologist will want to see if passing (very) nearby. Besides, it is just beyond the Devil's Pulpit, a famous Tintern Abby overlook. And we wanted a little exercise as well as communion with Nature and the spirits of Bill and Dottie.
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View of Tintern Abbey from the ridge; you can see our
camper, middle/right... |
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Devil's Pulpit view of the abbey; it was from the pulpit that
the devil enticed monks from the abbey... |
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Eureka! We are on the Offa's Dyke Path, one of the UK's
great walks |
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So there it is; you have to use your imagination as it's become
a bit overgrown in these 1200 years |
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| Ditto |
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Age-old war between tree and boulder: tree
wins again |
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Nice hike, nice trail, nice day, perhaps our
first day of summer here |
1 comment:
Damn that Henry VIII for his destruction of the great abbeys of England! At least the French have a few left!
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