Hergest Ridge

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For the album by Mike Oldfield with the same name, see Hergest Ridge (album)

Hergest Ridge
The summit
Elevation	426 m (1,398 ft)
Location	Herefordshire, England / Powys, Wales
Prominence	158 m
Parent peak	Gwaunceste Hill
Topo map	OS Landranger 148
OS grid reference	SO254562
Listing	Marilyn, Hewitt

Hergest Ridge is a large hill on the border between England and Wales (the highest point being in England) near the town of Kington.

[edit] On Offa's Dyke Path

The Offa's Dyke Path waymarked long distance footpath leads along the ridge, although not quite to the actual summit, nor to the trig point but passes very close by.

[edit] Victorian Racecourse

A disused Victorian circular country racecourse is sited on the hill and is clearly marked on Ordnance Survey maps and still visible today on the ground [1]. The racecourse was popular between 1825 and 1846 replacing an earlier racecourse on nearby Bradnor Hill just to the north of Kington town which was started in 1770. Horse races continued here until around 1880 in summer with panoramic views on all sides and popular with the local squiraarchy and farming community [2].

[edit] Upland Sheep Grazing

During the Second World War the hill was cultivated, but has now reverted to rough sheep grazing and moorland, and is partly covered by bracken and gorse.

"Hergest" should be pronounced to rhyme with 'hardest' with a hard "g" (as in "garden"). The local dialect pronunciation of the name is actually "Hargest".

The Red Book of Hergest is a medieval Welsh language manuscript stored in the Bodleian library in Oxford.