Pictures of Ross-on-Wye

About Ross-on-Wye

Ross-on-Wye is a beautiful market town, with a rising main street culminating at the well worn stone slabs beneath an ancient market house. The waters of the River Wye meander lazily around the town, and occasionally on the river you can watch canoes, small river-craft, and fly-fishing.

John Kyrle (1637-1724) was hugely instrumental in making this town what it is today. He laid out the fine Prospect Gardens, introduced a public water supply, enhanced the beautiful 14th century church dedicated to St.Mary and built a causeway to Wilton Bridge, all of which earned him the name "Man of Ross" first given by Alexander Pope and by which Kyrle has continued to be known ever since.

Today, this is a thriving market town with a friendly ambience, its streets are crammed with every kind of shop ranging from food and fashion to antique and art galleries. The beautiful Tudor merchant house at the back of the market house, is now converted into a superb antique emporium where visitors can find a diverse selection of attractive antiquities, and Robin Lloyd Antiques, known for fine English furniture, is in a lovely building from the town's Elizabethan period.

Ross climbs high against a back-drop of rural charm, where bright water-meadows are grazed with cattle and sheep and far horizons are misted with centuries old farm buildings and historic church towers. This is fertile agricultural country, it is barely ten miles from the borders of Wales, and within easy reach of the superb vantage point of Symonds Yat. The cathedral City of Hereford is within easy driving distance, and the old town of Monmouth is a twenty minute drive away.

Apart from the shops, the town has splendid hotels, lively pubs and a sprinkling of pleasant restaurants. It is an ideal place to spend a few days exploring the lush Wye Valley and the landscape extending to the borders of Wales where you can find hidden hamlets, quiet village greens, and leafy lanes studded with picturesque cottages.