Offa's Dyke Association
Offa's Dyke AssociationOffa's Dyke is a great frontier earthwork built by Offa, King of Mercia from 757 to 796 A.D. It gives its name to a long distance footpath, one of Britain's National Trails, which runs for 177 miles from Sedbury, near Chepstow, to Prestatyn through the varied and little-frequented landscapes of the Welsh Marches.
The Offa's Dyke Association was set up in 1969 to provide a link between walkers, historians and conservationists and those who live and work locally. All persons and organisations interested in the Welsh Border region are invited to join. Full membership is £14 a year: there are concessions for students, the unemployed, retired people, families and groups.
Back to the Offa's Dyke Association home page.
For a good description of the Offa's Dyke Path, with pictures, see Rick Bayley's 2002 Offa's Dyke Path Journal
See some more route notes (2005), by Chris Collins and Susan Kelly.
See some more route notes, by John Gillatt.
And yet more route notes.
To contact the Offa's Dyke Path Management Officer, for example to report problems with stiles or rights of way, email rob.dingle@powys.gov.uk or write to Rob Dingle, Powys County Council, St John's Offices, Fiveways, Llandrindod Wells, Powys. LD1 5ES Tel. 01597 827593
Information about the North Wales borderlands.
Information about the Llantilio Crossenny festival.
Information about the Clwydian Way.
Information about Hiking Forums .
Publishers of award-winning walking and trekking guidebooks: Cicerone .
Information about
Glyndwr's Way.
The National Trail offers some of Mid-Wales' finest scenery, ranging from
rolling hills, woodland and country lanes to open hill and mountain. The 132
mile / 212 km Trail offers something for everyone, from those seeking long
distance walking to day or weekend visitors.
Information about the Heart of Wales Line.
A comprehensive guide to this beautiful railway line that runs
through Knighton, from Shrewsbury to Swansea, featuring over 230
pages and 35 interactive maps.
Other information about walking ("a site that provides a
wide base of information about the mountains and high ground of
Britain, with regional information, walks, and photos"): http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk
Maps showing countryside access in Wales (part of the Countryside Council for Wales website - Arweiniad yw’r wefan yma i dir a llwybrau y gellir, fel arfer, fynd arnyn nhw ar droed yng Nghymru): http://csaw.ccw.gov.uk/index.html
For trail walking holidays, luggage transfer and an online accommodation booking service, click on http://www.trailwalkingholidays.co.uk
For an online shop offering a wide range of quality classic and contemporary Welsh goods, with everything from hand-crafted jewellery and crafts through to the latest Welsh music and delicious hampers, with secure online ordering, click on http://www.wales-direct.com/
Why not join a walk in aid of a local Parent Teacher Association? St George's school in Clun host an annual walk (in May) in aid of their PTA. See http://www.clunvalleychallenge.co.uk for details.
The Wysis Way links Offa's Dyke Path at Monmouth to Thames Path National Trail at Kemble in Gloucestershire. The walk is fully signposted, waymarked and publicised and will be shown in future editions of OS mapping. For details of this path, please see http://www.countryside-matters.co.uk/
The Kington Festival Association website: http://www.kingtonfestival.co.uk/
For information about the Llanarmon yn Ial area, see: http://www.llanarmon.com
The Agricultural Chaplaincy of the Diocese of Worcester has, in support with other agencies, launched the Go West Project, which aims to help develop the tourist potential of the Teme Valley in a sympathetic way. (Fuller details are available at http://www.temevalley.org.uk/
Last Minute Wales - last minute
links and bookings
Countryside Council for Wales, Plas Penrhos, Fford Penrhos, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2LQ
Countryside Access, - government website, with the new countryside code (with Welsh text)
Countryside Council for Wales (National Trails office), Ladywell House, Newtown, Powys, SY16 1RD
Countryside
Agency, John Dower House, Crescent Place, Cheltenham, GL50
3RA, and its National
Trails site.
Wales Tourist Board, Brunel House, 2 Fitzalan Road, Cardiff, CF2 1UY
Das Danewerk project (in German), about Viking-age earthworks in Schleswig-Holstein.
Heart of England Tourist Board, Woodside, Larkhill Road, Worcester, WR5 2EF
English Heritage, 23 Savile Row, London, W1S 2ET
Ramblers' Association, 2nd Floor, Camelford House, 87-90, Albert Embankment, London. SE1 7TW
Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales), Trevelyan House, Dimple Road, Matlock, Derbys. DE4 3YH
Trains HQ Everything Trains, from About Trains to York Trains.
Walking Forum is a forum for discussing all aspects of country walking & hiking in the UK with boards for general chat, gear, photography, and all the popular UK walking destinations.
CADW (Welsh Historic Monuments), Plas Carew, Unit 5/7 Cefn Coed, Parc Nantgarw, Cardiff, CF15 7QQ
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust Ltd., 7a Church Street, Welshpool, Powys, SY21 7DL
Long Distance Walkers' Association: Membership, LDPs etc Brian Smith, 10,Temple Park Close, Leeds. LS15 OJJ
If you are a GPS user, you can use http://www.trailexchange.co.uk to share your best routes with others. Runners and walkers with GPS units can search for new routes to download, either in their own area or when visiting another location. Visitors can also upload their own favourite routes for others to share.
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru. Plas Crug, Aberystwyth, Wales. SY23 1NJ
Wales on the Web Cymru ar y We
For information about camping in British Columbia, Canada, see: http://www.bc-camping.com/
Sister bodies of the Offa's Dyke Association, devoted to their respective Paths include:
PENNINE WAY ASSOCIATION, 29 Springfield Park Avenue, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6EL.
Information about the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, and http://www.swparks.com/uk/travel/wales/pbroke.html and http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/.
The Cambrian
Way , Tony Drake's own site describing his challenging high-level route through Wales
and
FRIENDS
OF THE RIDGEWAY, 18 Hampton Park, Bristol, BS6 6LH.
and
The South West Way Coastal Path is Britain's longest National Trail - over 600 miles! It starts at Minehead in Somerset and goes right round the South West Peninsula as far as Poole Harbour in Dorset. It has part of the Somerset coast, the North Devon coast, all Cornwall, the South Devon coast, and nearly all of the Dorset coast.
The South West Way Association was formed in 1973 with help from the ODA, and is now known as The South West Coast Path Association. Plenty of information is available about the coast path for those who wish to walk all, or indeed part, of it. An Annual Guide Gives a full trail description, comprehensive accommodation, ferries, local transport, and other useful information. A series of 50 detailed path descriptions are also available.
In recent years we feel substantial progress has been made in improvements to the route and in the general standard of maintenance. This is not to say that further work has not to be done. The more people that can support the Association, the sooner there will be a path that can give more enjoyment to a greater number of people.
Therefore, the Association both offers information and asks for your support. Please send enquiries about membership and purchase of the Annual Guide to the Administrator, Liz Wallis, South West Coast Path Association, Bowker House, Lee Mill Bridge, Ivybridge, Devon, PL21 9EF ( phone 01752 896237, fax 01752 893654), email info@swcp.org.uk or web site http://www.swcp.org.uk
For practical advice and information for walking all or part of the SWCP, contact the Secretary, Eric Wallis (phone/fax 01752 698048).
The Offa's Dyke Centre is in Knighton, Powys. The attractive purpose-made building was opened in 1999. It is 200 metres west of the Knighton town centre clock, and overlooks the town's riverside park and play area.
The Centre houses an exhibition on the Dyke and its history, the Offa's Dyke Association service for walkers on the National Trail, and the Knighton Tourist Information Centre.
E-mail oda@offasdyke.demon.co.uk,or contact the Centre Manager, ODA, West Street, Knighton, Powys, LD7 1EN (SAE please). Phone 01547 528753.
Please send Simon Rayner an email if you have any comments about this web site.
Back to the Offa's Dyke Association home page.
This web page was last revised in January 2008. Copyright 2008 by the Offa's Dyke Association, registered charity no. 503821.