Skip To Main Content

  • Stay
    • Accessible Accommodation
    • Bed & Breakfasts
    • Camping
    • Caravans, Campervans & Holiday Parks
    • Glamping, Lodges & Cabins
    • Holiday Cottages
    • Hostels & Bunkhouses
    • Hotels
      • Boutique Hotels
    • Pubs & Inns
    • Self-Catering
      • Serviced Apartments
    • Themed Accommodation
      • Accommodation with Hot Tub
      • Accommodation with Swimming Pool
      • Eco Friendly Accommodation
      • Family Friendly Accommodation
      • Group Friendly Accommodation
      • Hen & Stag Accommodation
      • Dog Friendly Accommodation
      • Stay on a Farm
  • What's On
  • Things To Do
    • Activities & Experiences
      • Adventure & Extreme
      • Canoeing, Kayaking & Watersports
      • Climbing
      • Cycling & Mountain Biking
      • Food & Drink Experiences
      • Shooting & Archery
      • Golf
      • Nature & Wildlife Experiences
      • Arts & Crafts
      • Walking & Hiking
    • Attractions
      • Beauty Spots & Visitor Sites
      • Castles & Ruins
      • Cinema & Theatre
      • History & Heritage
      • Museums & Galleries
      • Nature & Wildlife
    • Walking
      • 12 Easy Walks
      • Guided Tours
      • The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail
      • The Wye Valley Walk
      • Good with the Dog
      • The Offa's Dyke Path
      • Accessible Walks
      • Other Walking Routes & Trails
    • Cycling
      • Cycle Trails
      • Family Cycling
      • Bike Hire
      • Mountain Biking & Downhill
      • Guided Cycling
    • Dog Friendly
    • Family Friendly
      • Young Families
      • With Tweens & Teens
    • Group Friendly
    • Rainy Days
    • Tours & Trails
      • Walking Tours & Trails
      • Cycling Tours & Trails
      • On the Water
      • Driving Routes
      • Film & TV Trail
      • Myths & Legends Trail
      • Market Towns Trail
      • Heritage Trails
      • 'Feel the Love' Romantic Trail
    • Shopping
      • Local Food & Drink
      • Farm Shops & Delis
      • Towns & Villages
      • Online Gift Guide
    • Wellbeing & Spa
    • Weddings
  • Food & Drink
    • Afternoon Tea
    • Cafes & Tea Rooms
    • Dog Friendly Places to Eat
    • Farm Shops & Delis
      • Shops Offering Home Delivery
    • Family Friendly Places to Eat
    • Local Produce
    • Picnic Sites
    • Food & Drink Experiences
    • Private Chefs & Group Catering
    • Pubs
      • Beer Gardens
    • Restaurants
    • Takeaways & Deliveries
    • Vegetarian & Vegan
  • Explore
    • Getting Here
    • Getting Around
    • Maps & Guides
      • Download Our Visitor Guide
    • Nature & Wildlife
      • Wildlife
      • Boar
      • Birds
      • Deer
      • Flora
      • Bluebells
      • Daffodils
      • Trees
      • Severn Bore
    • History & Heritage
      • Forest of Dean
      • Industrial Revolution
      • Freemining
      • The Wye Tour
      • The Fascinating Facts of the Dean Wye
      • Hidden Heritage
      • Agincourt
      • Myths & Legends
    • Surrounding Areas
      • Brecon Beacons
      • Cheltenham
      • The Cotswolds
      • Gloucester
    • Famous People
      • Charles Rolls
      • David and Robert Mushet
      • The Man of Ross
    • Film & TV
      • Films
      • Harry Potter
      • Star Wars
      • King Arthur
      • TV Programmes
      • Doctor Who
      • Merlin
      • Atlantis
      • Sex Education
    • Tourist Information Centres
    • Towns and Villages
      • Forest of Dean
      • Wye Valley
      • Monmouthshire
      • Herefordshire
      • Coleford
      • Newent
      • Cinderford
      • Lydney
      • Usk
      • Ross-on-Wye
  • Inspiration
    • Adventure Breaks
    • Foodie Breaks
      • Abergavenny Excellence
      • Beer and Boutique
      • Newent Retreats
      • Rural Monmouthshire
      • Severn Valley Touring
      • The Heart of the Dean
      • Tintern Treats
      • Wye Valley Perfection
    • Escape the Everyday
      • Escape the Everyday at Home
    • Family Holidays
    • Rainy Day Ideas
    • Dark Skies
    • My Microgap
    • Dog Friendly Holidays
    • Seasons
      • Autumn: Leaf Peeping the Vibrant Colours
      • Winter: Cosy Escapes and Seasonal Delights
    • Romance
    • Viewpoints & Sights
  • Offers
  • Forest of Dean and Wye Valley
  • Print Logo
  • Stay

    Stay

  • Food & Drink

  • Things To Do

    Things To Do

  • Cymraeg

My Planner

Currently nothing planned yet in your itinerary. Have a browse through the site and begin to add things you're interested in.

List All My Saved Itineraries

Menu
  • Stay
    • Accessible Accommodation
    • Bed & Breakfasts
    • Camping
    • Caravans, Campervans & Holiday Parks
    • Glamping, Lodges & Cabins
    • Holiday Cottages
    • Hostels & Bunkhouses
    • Hotels
      • Boutique Hotels
    • Pubs & Inns
    • Self-Catering
      • Serviced Apartments
    • Themed Accommodation
      • Accommodation with Hot Tub
      • Accommodation with Swimming Pool
      • Eco Friendly Accommodation
      • Family Friendly Accommodation
      • Group Friendly Accommodation
      • Hen & Stag Accommodation
      • Dog Friendly Accommodation
      • Stay on a Farm
  • What's On
  • Things To Do
    • Activities & Experiences
      • Adventure & Extreme
      • Canoeing, Kayaking & Watersports
      • Climbing
      • Cycling & Mountain Biking
      • Food & Drink Experiences
      • Shooting & Archery
      • Golf
      • Nature & Wildlife Experiences
      • Arts & Crafts
      • Walking & Hiking
    • Attractions
      • Beauty Spots & Visitor Sites
      • Castles & Ruins
      • Cinema & Theatre
      • History & Heritage
      • Museums & Galleries
      • Nature & Wildlife
    • Walking
      • 12 Easy Walks
      • Guided Tours
      • The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail
      • The Wye Valley Walk
      • Good with the Dog
      • The Offa's Dyke Path
      • Accessible Walks
      • Other Walking Routes & Trails
    • Cycling
      • Cycle Trails
      • Family Cycling
      • Bike Hire
      • Mountain Biking & Downhill
      • Guided Cycling
    • Dog Friendly
    • Family Friendly
      • Young Families
      • With Tweens & Teens
    • Group Friendly
    • Rainy Days
    • Tours & Trails
      • Walking Tours & Trails
      • Cycling Tours & Trails
      • On the Water
      • Driving Routes
      • Film & TV Trail
      • Myths & Legends Trail
      • Market Towns Trail
      • Heritage Trails
      • 'Feel the Love' Romantic Trail
    • Shopping
      • Local Food & Drink
      • Farm Shops & Delis
      • Towns & Villages
      • Online Gift Guide
    • Wellbeing & Spa
    • Weddings
  • Food & Drink
    • Afternoon Tea
    • Cafes & Tea Rooms
    • Dog Friendly Places to Eat
    • Farm Shops & Delis
      • Shops Offering Home Delivery
    • Family Friendly Places to Eat
    • Local Produce
    • Picnic Sites
    • Food & Drink Experiences
    • Private Chefs & Group Catering
    • Pubs
      • Beer Gardens
    • Restaurants
    • Takeaways & Deliveries
    • Vegetarian & Vegan
  • Explore
    • Getting Here
    • Getting Around
    • Maps & Guides
      • Download Our Visitor Guide
    • Nature & Wildlife
      • Wildlife
      • Boar
      • Birds
      • Deer
      • Flora
      • Bluebells
      • Daffodils
      • Trees
      • Severn Bore
    • History & Heritage
      • Forest of Dean
      • Industrial Revolution
      • Freemining
      • The Wye Tour
      • The Fascinating Facts of the Dean Wye
      • Hidden Heritage
      • Agincourt
      • Myths & Legends
    • Surrounding Areas
      • Brecon Beacons
      • Cheltenham
      • The Cotswolds
      • Gloucester
    • Famous People
      • Charles Rolls
      • David and Robert Mushet
      • The Man of Ross
    • Film & TV
      • Films
      • Harry Potter
      • Star Wars
      • King Arthur
      • TV Programmes
      • Doctor Who
      • Merlin
      • Atlantis
      • Sex Education
    • Tourist Information Centres
    • Towns and Villages
      • Forest of Dean
      • Wye Valley
      • Monmouthshire
      • Herefordshire
      • Coleford
      • Newent
      • Cinderford
      • Lydney
      • Usk
      • Ross-on-Wye
  • Inspiration
    • Adventure Breaks
    • Foodie Breaks
      • Abergavenny Excellence
      • Beer and Boutique
      • Newent Retreats
      • Rural Monmouthshire
      • Severn Valley Touring
      • The Heart of the Dean
      • Tintern Treats
      • Wye Valley Perfection
    • Escape the Everyday
      • Escape the Everyday at Home
    • Family Holidays
    • Rainy Day Ideas
    • Dark Skies
    • My Microgap
    • Dog Friendly Holidays
    • Seasons
      • Autumn: Leaf Peeping the Vibrant Colours
      • Winter: Cosy Escapes and Seasonal Delights
    • Romance
    • Viewpoints & Sights
  • Offers
  1. Wye Valley Symonds Yat
  2. Things To Do - Tintern Abbey Autumn in the Wye Valley
  3. Things To Do - Chepstow Castle in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley

You are here: Explore > History & Heritage > The Wye Tour

The Wye Tour

Visitors to the Wye Valley today are following in the footsteps of many an eighteenth century traveller, sketchbook in hand, eagerly pursuing the British equivalent of the European Grand Tour. The man who popularised the Wye Tour, promoted the area for its 'Picturesque' beauty, and contributed to its reputation as the birthplace of British Tourism, was the Reverend William Gilpin. The pioneer of the 'Picturesque', he saw the landscape as 'expressive of that peculiar beauty which is agreeable in a picture.'

His writings influenced the remarkable popularity of English landscape painting during the last decade of the 18th Century, and inspired the Romantic poets. Gilpin’s ‘Observations on the River Wye’ appeared in print in 1782, although his journey actually took place in 1770. Arguably the first tour guide to be published in Britain, it was one of a series of illustrated guidebooks to help travellers locate and enjoy the most ‘Picturesque’ aspects of the countryside. In fact, it was many years earlier, in 1745 that the true originator of the 'Wye Tour', Dr John Egerton, started taking friends on boat trips down the Valley from the rectory at Ross-on-Wye. Little did he know that he had started a trend, and once Gilpin’s guidebook was published, demand grew so much that by 1808 there were eight boats winding their way down the Wye.

Observations on the River Wye

The Birth of British Tourism

The Wye Valley was witnessing the birth of British tourism. By 1850 more than 20 of the more literate 'tourists' had published their own accounts of the Wye Tour. Some of the most famous poets, writers and artists of Gilpin’s day made the pilgrimage to the great sights of Goodrich Castle, Tintern Abbey and Chepstow Castle - among them Pope, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Thackeray and Turner. The many guidebooks, engravings and paintings ensured a continuing steady stream of visitors. Some of these works are today held in the collections at Chepstow and Monmouth Museums.

The first of Britain’s great landscapes to be ‘discovered’, the Wye Valley’s particular attraction was its river scenery. The Wye’s meandering course through the Herefordshire Lowlands and especially through the Wye Gorge was and remains alluring to visitors. Most of the truly ‘Picturesque’ scenes were sketched from river level, with the shimmering water as the foreground for the brooding forests and cliffs behind. It was also accessible and small in area: the tour was a linear one, unless you carried on into South Wales. The Wye Valley was also a landscape of ruins, including the castles of Wilton (now privately owned), Goodrich and Chepstow, and ruins were very important to the notion of the Picturesque.

The arrival of the railway in 1876 made the valley even more accessible. In the early 1900s, crowds of up to 1300 would travel on a special train journey to see Tintern Abbey on the night of the harvest moon. Today, the Wye Gorge between Ross-on-Wye and Chepstow is one of the best known and most visited landscapes in southern Britain.

Tintern Abbey was undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited stop on the Wye Tour. 'A more pleasing retreat could not easily be found' wrote Gilpin in 1770, drawing attention to the mixture of woods and glades, the winding river, the splendid ruin and the surrounding hills, which ‘make all together a very enchanting piece of scenery.’ Wordsworth was also captivated by the abbey and its setting, observing in 1798 in his ‘Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey’ (actually written about Cleddon Falls at Whitestone above Llandogo) the ‘steep and lofty cliffs’, the waters ‘rolling from their mountain springs with a sweet inland murmur’ and the ‘wild green landscape.’ One of the many tourists to marvel at this view was the Romantic poet Coleridge (1772-1834) who wrote: ‘Oh what a godly scene... The whole world seemed imaged in its vast circumference.’

The Wye Tour and the Picturesque

The earliest known aesthetic appreciation of the Wye Valley’s spectacular views and natural beauty can be dated back to the very beginning of the eighteenth century, when John Kyrle 'The Man of Ross' developed the ‘Prospect’ at Ross-on-Wye. Kyrle selected his viewpoints not because of their strategic value in military or commercial terms, but because they commanded a good view over the surrounding landscape.

As a consequence of the ‘Picturesque’ Wye Tour even more ‘viewpoints’ arose at points along the Wye Valley. They include those at Upper and Lower Wyndcliffe near Chepstow, Symonds Yat Rock, and Capler Camp south of Hereford. The viewpoints split into two categories: the views from the river and the views of the river from the cliffs and hills above. Today, it is the higher views that are the most popular; ironically, few of them are classically ‘Picturesque’ in Gilpin’s terms.

Enthusiasts of the Picturesque, inspired by Gilpin, meet to this day. The Picturesque Society, an international society, based in Herefordshire, was formed in 1992 to encourage research into the origins, history and achievements of the Picturesque Movement.

Find out more from Wye Valley AONB here, you can also download a brochure on The Picturesque Wye Tour here. Plans for the Gilpin 2020 celebrations can be found here many of which we are now hoping will take place in 2021.

Loading..

Now Explore The Wye Tour Yourself:

Find Your Freedom

  1. Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
    The nation's favourite river, flowing through some of the most beautiful lowland scenery in Britain.
  2. Tintern Abbey
    Tintern Abbey
    Tintern was only the second Cistercian foundation in Britain, and the first in Wales. Despite the shell of this grand structure being open to the skies, it remains the best-preserved medieval abbey in Wales.
  3. Chepstow Castle
    Chepstow Castle
    The oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain, its history is long and fascinating and there is still much of it left intact for us to see. A truly impressive fortification built high above the banks of the River Wye.
  4. The Wye Valley Walk
    The Wye Valley Walk
    A long distance national trail which follows the course of the River Wye from its source in mid-Wales to its confluence with the River Severn at Chepstow in Monmouthshire offering some of the most beautiful views of the Wye Valley.
  5. The Offa's Dyke Path
    The Offa's Dyke Path
    A long distance national trail running along the border between England and Wales. It begins in the south at Sedbury Cliffs in Gloucester on the Severn Estuary in England to the east of the River Wye and for about 70 miles of the southern section through the Wye Valley AONB follows the course of the Offa's Dyke earthwork.
  6. Credit Wye Valley AONB
    Ross-on-Wye
    Ross-on-Wye is a small market town in the south of Herefordshire offering excellent places to stay, eat and shop. Set in beautiful countryside it’s a great place for fresh air, walking and canoeing.
  7. Wyndcliff and Eagle's Nest
    The Eagle's Nest Viewpoint and Wyndcliffe
    Breathtaking views of the Wye Valley and River Severn from the Eagle's Nest at the top of a steep, wooded limestone cliff.
  8. Symonds Yat Rock
    Symonds Yat Rock
    Internationally renowned viewpoint with fantastic views over the Wye Valley
    1. 1 Jan 000131 Dec 9999
  9. Piercefield Walk
    Piercefield Walk and Viewpoints
    Historic path along cliffs overlooking the River Wye popular during the Wye Tour. Part of the Wye Valley Walk north of Chepstow and leading to the Eagle's Nest Viewpoint.
  10. Whitestone and Cleddon Falls
    Whitestone and Cleddon Falls
    A stunning section of the Wye Valley Walk high above the River Wye with some of the most impressive views along the Wye Valley. The thundering Cleddon Falls are the biggest in the area and the Duchess Ride Viewpoint is one of the best.
  11. Canoeing, Kayaking & Watersports
    Canoeing, Kayaking & Watersports
    The Wye Valley is one of the most scenic places in the UK and an ideal setting for water based adventures. Whether in a canoe, a kayak or on a stand-up paddleboard, take to the water and see this beautiful area as it is meant to be seen - from the river itself.
E-newsletter Icon
Sign up for our e-newsletter
Be the first to hear about our exciting events, offers, inspiration and competitions by signing up.
MORE INFO
Brochure Icon
Download our brochure
Our 2020/21 visitor guide has everything you need for a visit plus a range of discount vouchers.
MORE INFO
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Cookies
  • Advertise With Us
  • Membership
  • Cymraeg
  • Video Credits
  • E-newsletter Sign Up
  • Download Our Visitor Guide
  • Member Login

Connect and share your #DeanWye experiences with us @VISITDEANWYE

©Visit Dean Wye 2021. All Rights Reserved.
*Visit Dean Wye is the trading name of Forest of Dean & Wye Valley Tourism Limited.

Made by Simpleview Logo

Don't Miss

  • Know Before You Go

    Know Before You Go

  • Visitor Guide 2020-2021 Cover

    Download Our Visitor Guide