Hereford in beautiful Herefordshire (photos on the web) is 142 miles northwest of London via Oxford, 32 miles northwest of Gloucester, and 64 miles north of Bath.  It is another of the so-called "black and white" towns (so named  because of its many half-timbered buildings that have black-painted timbers and whitewashed walls), and is very close to the Wales border.  A rural town, it is the place where the Hereford cattle breed was developed  There still is a cattle market in the town.  Our interest in going there was the Norman Cathedral but we did very much enjoy a walk around the town.

 

Prior structures on the cathedral site date from Saxon times.  The major part of the present Cathedral dates from 1079 AD. Like other cathedrals, this one suffered some catastrophes related to its construction. The west tower collapsed in 1786.  Its reconstruction also involved some major alterations to the design including shortening the central nave.  Nevertheless, it is still very beautiful. You can take a virtual tour of the major parts of the cathedral to see more than we have to show.

 

One of the treasures in this cathedral is the Mappa Mundi, a 13th century map (c 1290 is considered a reliable date) on vellum representing the physical and spiritural view of the world that medieval scholars had at the time.

 

Here are a few photos of the town, including one of a hairdresser shop with a great name that is modelled after the title of an American musical and one of a small round of cheese that we describe in our letter, and is shown here to be believed.  We wrote about our visit in a letter, and also include here a page of our photos of the cathedral.