Hergest Ridge is a large elongated hill which traverses the border between England and Wales in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, between the town of Kington in Herefordshire and the village of Gladestry in Powys. Its highest point, which is in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, is 426 metres high. "Hergest" is pronounced to rhyme with 'hardest' with a hard "g" (as in "garden").

On Offa's Dyke Path

The

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path ( cy, Llwybr Clawdd Offa) 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 Trails and draws walkers from throughout th ...

waymarked long distance footpath leads along the ridge. The path passes close by the highest point of the ridge and the adjacent

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

Victorian racecourse

A disused Victorian circular country racecourse is sited on the hill. It is clearly marked on

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

maps and is still visible on the ground. The racecourse was popular between 1825 and 1846. It replaced an earlier racecourse on nearby Bradnor Hill just to the north of Kington town, which dates from 1770. Horse races continued here in the summer until around 1880. With the panoramic views on all sides, they were popular with the local

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

, squirearchy and farming community.

Upland sheep grazing

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the hill was cultivated, but has now reverted to rough sheep grazing and

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

, and is partly covered by

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

and

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...

Inspiration

The ridge inspired an album by English multi-instrumentalist

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

, ''

Hergest Ridge Hergest Ridge is a large elongated hill which traverses the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom, between the town of Kington in Herefordshire and the village of Gladestry in Powys. Its highest point, which is in England, ...

''. Oldfield was a resident of the area during the writing and recording of his albums ''Hergest Ridge'' and ''

Ommadawn ''Ommadawn'' is the third studio album by English musician, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 25 October 1975 on Virgin Records. ''Ommadawn'' peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart, No. 74 in Canada, and No. 146 on ...

''. Ommadawn was actually recorded in his nearby house, ''The Beacon''. The albums were reissued with bonus material in June 2010. At the end of ''Ommadawn'' is a short song entitled ''On Horseback''. The last lines of the lyrics are as follows: ''So if you feel a little glum, to Hergest Ridge you should come. In summer, winter, rain or sun, it's good to be on horseback.''

References

{{Reflist Marilyns of England Hills of Herefordshire Mountains and hills of Powys Marilyns of Wales pl:Hergest Ridge