Viewpoints

HiddenIndustry

Hill FortsRiver Connections

Hill Forts

River Connections

Hill Forts

Viewpoints

HiddenIndustry

Hill Forts

River Connections

Head for the Hillforts

A circular walk from Symonds Yat Rock to Little Doward 5-6 HOURS, 7 MILE WALK (or shorter sections)

Follow in the footsteps of the Wye Tourists down to theWye. Cross the river at the Biblins visiting Little DowardHillfort, King Arthur’s Cave and New Weir Forge. Return on the hand ferry at Symonds Yat West.

Hillforts The brooding presence ofmassive hillforts built by IronAge tribes, commanding widevistas high above the Wye,reinforces the feeling that thisarea has been border countryfor millennia.

Hidden industry With fiery furnaces belching outfumes and smoke the Wye Valleywas one of the earliest places inthe UK to industrialise. Todaythe woodland and water whichpowered this industry provide apicturesque backdrop for thishidden industrial heritage.

River connectionsThink of the Wye as a wateryhighway linking the riversidevillages with the wider worldand you’ll begin to understandits importance in earlier timeswhen boatmen navigated trowsladen with cargo between theWyeside wharves.

Viewpoints Tourists discovered the beauty of the Wye in the 18th centurywhen it became fashionable totake the Wye Tour and findinspiration in the picturesqueviewpoints. The views havechanged as woods and farmlandare managed differently today, butyou'll still find inspiration here!

Discover the heritage of the Wye Valleythrough our four themes

ViewpointsHidden

Industry

Hill Forts

River Connectionsts dustry

Hill Forts

River Connections

Viewpoints

HiddenIndustry

Hill Forts

River Connections

Viewpoints

HiddenIndustry

Hill Forts

River Connections

Butterflies and BirdsLook out for rare birds and butterflies along the walk.Peregrine falcons can be seen at Yat Rock from earlyspring. The Forestry Commission work in partnershipwith the RSPB staff and volunteers to help you getthe best views of these amazing birds of prey.Through the season they can be seen sitting on thenest, returning with food and later teaching the youngfalcons to fly and hunt.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries The Doward waswell known amongst butterfly collectors, who arrivedat Symonds Yat on special excursion trains. Localboys caught Purple Emperors and other rarebutterflies and sold them to the visitors. In 1911 analien species from Europe, the Map Butterfly, wasreported on The Doward. The great butterfly collectorAlbert Brydges Farn decided to retire here. An expertin British insects and their delicate relationships withplants, he believed that no alien fauna or flora shouldbe introduced to the British Isles. Secretly hedestroyed the whole colony of alien invaders! LindsayHeyes who runs the Wye Valley Butterfly Zoo, (20)located in the shadow of The Doward, has acontinuing programme of research into the life of Farnand his studies brought this intriguing story to light.

Today there are around 30 indigenous species ofbutterfly on The Doward hills including colonies ofWood White, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Small Heath,Silver-washed Fritillary, Grizzled Skipper and DingySkipper. The rare Purple Emperor Butterfly is foundvery occasionally.

n Peregrine falcon at Symonds Yat. (© Linda Wright)

The commanding view and cliff top location whichmakes Symonds Yat such a popular tourist destinationwas also valued by much earlier people. The hillforthere is one of at least nine prehistoric hilltopenclosures dotted along the lower Wye Valley. This walk links with the closest of these hillforts,across the Wye on the Little Doward.

Constructed in the Iron Age (around 700BC-43AD) these dramatic earthwork monuments are one of the few remaining visible links to our prehistoric past– an evocative reminder of the people who oncegathered here.

Most Iron Age people lived in small farmsteads. They also constructed hillforts which overlooked theriver and were visible from the surroundingcountryside. The size of the encircling banks andditches, which define these sites, conjure up imagesof warrior defenders and places of refuge during tribalunrest. Although the ramparts were defensive theywere also a statement about the prestige of theinhabitants. We may call them hillforts, but it is likelythey were much more than places to retreat to intimes of trouble. They were probably the local focus for politics, religion and trade.

z Front cover: The view to New Weir. (© Chepstow Museum)

Hillforts above the WyeSymonds Yat Hillfort

The Symonds Yat hillfort was defended on two sidesby steep cliffs and on the third by five concentricramparts, each a substantial bank with a ditchalongside. It fell out of use around or before the timethe Romans invaded Britain – 50 BC to AD 43 – atthe end of the Iron Age.

Little Doward Hillfort

The hillfort at Little Doward has two parts, nowdivided by a sunken trackway running across the site.A single massive rampart surrounds the upperenclosure. These banks and ditches survive as aprominent feature in the landscape today. The lowerenclosure does not have a rampart, but has steepcliffs on three sides. Excavations here suggest thatthis smaller enclosure was the earliest. There isevidence of metalworking, around 360BC. Finds fromthe archaeological excavations include Iron Agepottery and large quantities of bone from cattle, sheepand pigs. The bone has survived particularly well herebecause the soil is very alkaline as a result of theunderlying limestone. Burnt grain was also foundshowing that crops were cultivated and processed.

j Symonds Yat Hillfort n Little Doward Hillfort

START Symonds Yat Rock Log CabinOS Grid Reference: 564162

(Numbers in the text also appear on the map.)

1 The Log Cabin Did you notice the ramparts of the Iron Age Hillfort oneither side of the footpath as you walked from the carpark to the cabin?

n The log cabin cafe, built by the Forestry Commissionin 1956. (© Dean Heritage Museum Trust)

Once you have taken in the views from Yat Rock, take thesteep footpath, near the cabin, down the steps, followingthe Forest Footpath waymarkers through beech woods tothe car park beside the river.

This track was the old miners’ route to Symonds Yat,down which coal was carried by mules. In the 18thcentury a boat tour down the Wye from Ross toChepstow was the height of fashion. Special tourboats were constructed – commodious conveyances –with cushioned seats, a table at which to sketch, writeand paint, and a canopy to protect the travellers fromthe sun or rain. These tourists left their boats belowColdwell Rocks and climbed up to the viewpoint atYat Rock, before descending down this track to rejointheir boats at New Weir.

n View over the railway and river towards New Weirand the old limestone quarry and kilns on theDoward. (© Dean Heritage Museum Trust)

n The elegance of Edwardian Symonds Yat station.(© Dean Heritage Museum Trust)

2 ‘New Weir for Symonds Yat’Railway StationCan you hear the steam trains and smell the sootysmoke? This car park was a station on the Ross andMonmouth Railway. Five passenger trains a day ineach direction ran through here, plus summer excursiontraffic. In the 1930s a camping coach (a speciallyconverted old coach) was installed for weekly hire.Much earlier, passengers alighting here were accostedby a ‘mob of shirt-sleeved gondoliers’, who would takethem by boat to their final destination! Before therailway most visitors arrived here by boat.

n The railway line running towards the station andNew Weir. (© Private collection)

It is advisable to check that the hand ferry at theSaracens Head is running if you intend to use it later for your return. Alternatively you could take the ferrynow, and follow the walk in reverse, returning via theBiblins bridge across the river.

n This detail from Samuel Ireland's picture of 1797shows horses towing a trow into the lock on the left.The Forge is on the right. (© Chepstow Museum)

Walk to your left through the car park and stay on the trackalong the riverbank. The route follows the old railway line.

3 New Weir …The barges passing in the locks, afford someamusement to the minds of those who are not in the habit of witnessing such scenes.(Charles Heath, 1799.)

The weir diverted water to power the ironworks on theother side of the river at New Weir Forge. The Wyewas an important trade route and the weir hereformed an obstacle to boats navigating the river. TheEarl of Kent, who owned the forge, had to provide alock so that boats could pass the weir, and a housefor the lock-keeper. The weir was taken away in1814, removing the last obstruction to free navigationon the Wye.

The flat-bottomed river boats which carried cargo upand down the river were called trows. With a singlesquare sail and open hull, they could sit on theriverbank and be loaded and unloaded whatever thedepth of the water. Below Llandogo some trows weresturdier with a closable deck and more sails so theycould venture across the treacherous waters of theBristol Channel. By the end of the 19th century, afterthe railway arrived, the smallest trows disappearedfrom the river. The sea going trows survived for longer.

4 Route of Towpath and Railway It is only recently that the trees have been left to growat the water's edge, now obscuring much of the view.The riverbank had to be unobstructed to allow thetrows to be hauled through the shallows by mencalled bow hauliers. They were attached to the boatsby a rope which they wore on a type of harness.Horses replaced men in the 19th century when ahorse towing path was constructed. When steamtrains arrived the risk of fire made it even moreimportant to keep the vegetation clear. Operatingbetween 1873 and 1959, countless passengersenjoyed the picturesque views from the train alongthis stretch of the Ross and Monmouth Railway.

n Bow hauliers on the Wye near Symonds Yat. (© Monmouth Museum)

Continue on this path until you reach a footbridge on your right where you cross the river.

n Early campers at the Biblins. (© Neil Parkhouse Collection)

5 The BiblinsThis suspension bridge was built by the ForestryCommission in 1957. The Biblins, which is managed by the Forestry Commission, opened as a youthcampsite in the early 1940s.

Turn left here and follow the Wye Valley Walk alongside theriver. Keep on this path until reaching the second of a pairof cast iron gates, with stone walls on the right. Gothrough the wooden kissing gate, turn left and follow thepath uphill and round to the right, keeping right at thefork, which leads to the limekilns. (Don’t carry on alongthe Wye Valley Walk by the river.)

6 LimekilnsLimestone quarries litter this area and there are manylimekilns which were built to process the lime.

Retrace your route and go through the kissing gateheading back towards the Biblins.

When you reach the second metal gate look at thestone gate posts, which are made of QuartzConglomerate. This is sandstone with white or glassyquartz pebbles. This rock is an example of the redsandstones formed here 400 million years ago as riversflowed over a hot dry landscape and depositedsediments. These rocks outcrop on the lower westside of Little Doward near Wyastone Leys.

After a very short distance take the next footpath on yourleft up a steep path into a gully which takes you uphill tothe Little Doward.

n This print from 1861 shows donkeys and packhorses carrying charcoal up to the New Weir limekilns,where the limestone was burnt to make lime. (© Private collection)

As you climb you will walk over two small flat areas withblack soil underfoot; these are probably charcoal 'hearths'upon which charcoal was burned.

7 Seven SistersAs you climb the Little Doward you are walking through50 million years of geological time. Towering abovethe river to your right are seven bluffs of limestoneknown as the Seven Sisters. This limestone is formedfrom the shell fragments of millions of dead seacreatures deposited on the floor of a warm shallow seasome 350 million years ago. Over a long period oftime as successive layers form, those underneathbecome buried and compacted. Here they formed thespectacular limestone cliffs we can see today. Theseinaccessible cliffs and the surrounding woodlandprovide feeding, nesting and breeding areas for manyspectacular birds of prey including Goshawks, PeregrineFalcons and Buzzards. These woodlands also form oneof the most important areas for woodland conservationin Britain. Some of the rarest native tree species we have,such as large-leaved lime and whitebeams are foundhere, alongside sessile oak stands on the limestone.

Keep on the steep track uphill until you reach a fence with fields beyond. Take the track to the left and follow this path zig zagging uphill through the Woodland Trustwoods, ignoring a right fork as you near the top. Go over astep stile and another stile with a rockface in front of you.

Continue uphill along the gently winding main drive untilreaching a junction of paths.

10 Iron Age HillfortTowering 724 feet above the River Wye, with steepcliffs on three sides and extensive views across thesurrounding area, the Little Doward provided the idealsite for a large Iron Age hillfort, improved only by theconstruction of a single massive rampart around theenclosure. The hillfort has two parts: an upper and alower enclosure. You are now standing on theboundary between the two enclosures.

Recent archaeological exploration has found thatpeople here lived in circular platform houses. Theyworked animal bones, making items like toggles anddice, items which were found during a dig here in 2009.

n Because of the limestone bedrock on the site boneis well preserved here, such as this decoratedtoggle. Made from deer antler it may be 2000years old and was probably used just like a dufflecoat toggle to fasten clothing or bags.

Take the second path on the right which takes a semi-circular route around the edge of the ancient hillfort.Blakemore created a carriage ride along this route cuttingstraight through the ramparts as you can see, about 100metres ahead. The ditch and bank are very clear a littleway further along on the right. Follow this track around ina big curve which levels out at the top and sweeps aroundto the left. Look out for the Ordnance Survey’s concrete‘trig point’ above you on your left as the track makes abend to the right. Your track soon merges with anothercoming in from the right. Continue ahead for about 100metres to a path junction beside a large beech tree with ahuge base. Blakemore's folly stood at the far end of theraised causeway along which you look.

n Richard Blakemore's home – Wyastone Leys. (© Private collection)

8 The Wyastone Estate The substantial stone wall behind you marks theboundary of the Wyastone Estate. In the 19th centurythis area was owned by Richard Blakemore, a wealthyVictorian ironmaster who moved to the Little Dowardin 1820; the cast iron gates by which you reachedthe limekilns are likely to have been made at hisironworks in South Wales. Having rebuilt the house atWyastone Leys (12) he set about creating a newpicturesque landscape on his estate. To achieve thisBlakemore demolished many of the cottages whichdotted the Doward. He constructed walks and carriagedrives which cut straight through the ramparts of anIron Age hillfort. He built a hermitage and otherpoints of interest along the paths. He constructed highstone walls to keep deer enclosed inside his park. Heeven blasted through the cliffs to form a picturesquechasm here. Look closely to the left of the rock facein front of you and you can still see the holes thatwere drilled for explosive charges. As the local vicarreported, Blakemore was ‘entirely unacquainted withthe antiquarian interest attached to his property’.

Turn right and follow the drive up to the open area on the Little Doward

9 Limestone PavementAs the path levels out you may be able to spot on theleft (during the winter months when the vegetationdies back) an area of limestone pavement, formedwhere water dissolved the limestone along the lines ofnatural cracks in the rock. These cracks now provideimportant habitats for lime-loving plants and animals.

j Blakemore's Folly! (© Monmouth Museum)

f The ramparts of Little Doward Hillfort.

11 Blakemore’s FollyTo enjoy the views Blakemore built a 70 foot irontower here. Visitors were allowed to climb the stepsrunning up through the middle of the tower onSunday evenings. The folly stood high aboveWyastone House with views towards Monmouth, butthe view today without the tower is obscured by thetrees. You may be able to spot the stone remains ofits base if you take a detour to the far end of thecauseway. The tower was dismantled around 1920.

12 Wyastone LeysRichard Blakemore’s home, Wyastone Leys, overlooksthe river. The census of 1851 shows that despitebeing a batchelor he had a large household – ahousekeeper, two butlers, four servants, a coachmanand a footman. Blakemore’s Victorian ‘improvements’to this ancient landscape may seem like vandalismtoday, but his picturesque enhancements added yetanother layer of human activity on the Little Doward.A catalogue detailing Wyastone when it was for salein 1861 describes ‘walks on the Doward Hill formedwith great taste’.

From the beech tree take the track on the left which leadsup to a cutting in the rampart. Tucked away in the bankjust to the right is a small stone structure.

13 The HermitageThese stones are the remains of a hermitage or rusticshepherd’s hut, another of the structures built byBlakemore to add interest to his estate.

As you walk through the ramparts, you can’t help but marvelat the scale of this hillfort, which forms a huge oval shape.Follow the track straight down through the middle untilreaching the junction of paths at (10).

14 Lower HillfortThis is the lower part of the hillfort known as theannex. Flattened areas on top of the cliffs are thoughtto have been platforms for Iron Age buildings. This isprobably the oldest section of the hillfort.

Turn right here and walk for a short distance along theshallow ditch feature of the hillfort. Take the first path offon the left which leads downhill, just beyond a smallfenced enclosure on the right.

15 Ancient Trees and Woodland Pasture Little Doward has many ancient trees and woodlandof European significance. Known as Old GrowthWoods they are special places full of rare species.Here the coppiced trees and charcoal platforms revealthe past importance of this woodland to local tradeand industry, as well as its role as wood pasture forgrazing livestock. Have you seen the hardy cattle,which help to manage this site? In 2008 a coniferplantation was removed to protect the hillfort and theancient woodland habitat.

Continue downhill keeping the limestone cliffs on your left with the end of a ruined wall on your right. This wasanother of Blakemore’s scenic paths, cut into the hillsideto impress visitors with the best views. Keep left.

17 New Weir ForgeThe path skirts the former orchard and garden of MrPartridge, who lived here and ran the ironworks in the18th century. These ironworks date from 1570 andworked until 1798. They were powered by waterdiverted from the river by the weir. Timber from thelocal woods was used to make the heavy hammerbeam used here. Four bull hides were bought to make bellows for the forge in May 1590! The worksincluded a slitting mill, for making wire nails and a rolling mill powered by waterwheels.

New Weir was just one of the impressive metalworking sites along the banks of the Wye thatfascinated tourists on the Wye tour:

In the midst of all this gloom is an iron forge,covered with a black cloud of smoak, and surroundedwith half burned ore, with coal, and with cinders; thefuel for it is brought down a path, worn into stepsnarrow and steep, and winding among precipices;and near it is an open space of barren moor, aboutwhich are scattered the huts of the workmen. Itstands close to the cascade of the Weir….and thesullen sound, at stated intervals from the strokes ofthe great hammers of the forge, deadens the roar ofthe water-fall. (Whately, 1770)

Walk through the chasm and then take the stile on theright downhill, and over the ladder stile. Follow this pathdown until reaching the edge of the wood and a fieldboundary on your left, meeting a track joining from theright. Keep left beside the fence and walk up to the cave.

16 King Arthur’s CaveVictorian and Edwardian naturalists were fascinatedby the Doward Hills. This large limestone cave,known as King Arthur’s Cave, held a particular draw.Excavations here reveal that people have used thiscave for 20,000 years. Prehistoric animal bones – ofhyena, rhinoceros, bison, lion, bear, reindeer, horseand giant deer – were discovered 11 feet below thecave’s present floor.

n Early diggers at King Arthur’s Cave (© Monmouth Museum)

Go to the right of the cave and take the path which leads upbehind the cave, with the cave to your left. Keep on this pathup hill through the trees until reaching a car park. At thecar park turn right down the forestry track which leads toThe Biblins (5). When you reach the log cabin keep left onthe track through the campsite. The track becomes afootpath beside the river and then rises as it skirts aroundthe site of New Weir Forge. Keep straight on, ignoring apath going off on the right at the bottom of the rise andthen bear right downhill at the next fork.

f This trow is moored in the channel that fed theforge pond that in turn fed the waterwheels whichpowered the bellows and hammers at the forge.New Weir, Michael Angelo Rooker c. 1783. (© Monmouth Museum)

n Worker’s cottages stood on the hillside above New Weir Forge. Wathen,1800. (© Herefordshire Archive Service)

What remains of New Weir Forge provides a glimpseback in time to an age when the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley were nationally important iron making centres.

From the ironworks continue along the path above the site,towards Symonds Yat. On the left above the track are theremains of old cottages, built to house around 30 families.Keep straight on passing some houses and at the junctionwith the road turn right downhill. Continue past the signfor the Hand Ferry for a short distance until reaching thelimekilns on the left.

18 Symonds Yat Limekilns With the abundance of limestone in the surroundingcliffs many limekilns were built here to process thelimestone. The photo above from about 1880 showsat least three banks of limekilns higher up theDoward, as well as the scars of limestone quarries.Some of the quarried lime was crushed whilst the restwas burnt in limekilns like these. It was then used forspreading on the fields, or as mortar for building workand even for improving the road surface. Lime wasquite dangerous – it would burn your skin, and couldexplode unexpectedly. In 1803 Charles Heath, a localwriter, moaned about the disagreeable effluvia fromthe limekilns along the river, which spoilt the view!

Now return to the Hand Ferry, going left down the steps,signposted for Symonds Yat East (Ferry).

n The Great Doward Hill soon rose in all its grandeuron the right, galleried throughout by quarries, andrendered wildly beautiful by the misty smoke fromits numerous kilns and cottages, which are sprinkledall over its fantastic heights, wherever a tiny cabincan find room to perch itself. Gilpin, 1783. (© Neil Parkhouse Collection)

19 Rope Ferry at Symonds YatA rope or hand ferry across the river joins SymondsYat East and West, operating so long as the waterlevels are suitable. Ferries like this were vital in thepast, linking communities on both sides of the river.Many ferries took horses, livestock and other cargoes.

n Rowing boats were moored all along the riverbankand there was much competition amongst the boatmen to win passengers. (© Dean Heritage Museum Trust)

Take the ferry to the other side of the river and alightingturn right and walk back towards the New Weir car park.

Produced by the Wye Valley Area ofOutstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) unit as part of the Overlooking the Wye scheme. © 2012

We are grateful to the following for allowingimages and detail from images to bereproduced here: Chepstow Museum,Monmouth Museum, Herefordshire ArchiveService, Dean Heritage Museum Trust,Linda Wright. Neil Parkhouse Collection,Private Collection. Route map by PhoenixMapping.

Wye Valley Area of Outstanding NaturalBeauty (AONB): An internationallyimportant protected landscape, straddlingthe England-Wales border for 58 miles ofthe River Wye. The AONB Partnershipworks to conserve and enhance the beautyof this living, working landscape for presentand future generations.

Whilst all due care was taken in thepreparation of the information contained inthis leaflet, the Wye Valley Area ofOutstanding Natural Beauty Partnershipdoes not accept any responsibility for anyinaccuracies which might occur.

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n Crossing by ferry at the Saracens Head around1906. (© Neil Parkhouse Collection)

n A boatman and rowing boat below the SevenSisters. (© Chepstow Museum)

Excursions in rowing boatswere extremely popular and atone point there were 25boatmen, plying their trade.The largest rowing boat, theDelphine, seated 21 peopleand loading the passengerswas a delicate art in balance!After World War II the firstmotor boats arrived, but theycouldn’t go downstream overthe rapids. In the 1970s thefirst waterbus fromAmsterdam arrived.

Before you get to the car park, take the footpath on the leftbetween the two hotels (signposted Yat Rock 1/2 m) whichleads up the hill following the Forest waymarker signsuntil you emerge at the top beside the log cabin atSymonds Yat Rock.

A circular walk from Symonds Yat Rock to Little Doward 5-6 HOUR, 7 MILE WALK (or shorter sections)

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Head for the Hillforts walk

The Forestry Commission own and managemuch of the woodland surrounding you on thiswalk. They work to maintain these nativebroadleaved woodlands and their associated floraand fauna, so characteristic of the Wye Valley.Much of the area is designated as a Site ofSpecial Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the walktakes you through areas of non-intervention andminimum intervention where management isvery closely monitored. Where timber isextracted, it may be taken out using horses toavoid damaging archaeological remains.

© Crown copyright and database rights 2012. Ordnance Survey 100023415 If you want to avoid the steepest section between SymondsYat Rock and Symonds Yat East why not start at New Weircar park at Symonds Yat East?