subject: National Trail - North to South [print this page] National Trail - North to South National Trail - North to South
There must be few short breaks in Wales visitors who have not heard of Offa's Dyke, the 177-mile long earthwork which stretches from Sedbury near Chepstow in the south-east to Prestatyn in the north.
Up to 65-feet wide and eight feet high its embankment and flanking ditch are said to hve been built by Offa, King of Mercia between 757 and 796AD as a defence from the warring Welsh. It still more or less marks the boundary between England and Wales, passing through the varied and little frequented landscapes of the Welsh Marches, llike a mini Hadrian's Wall.
Many short breaks in Wales walking enthusiasts have used it since it was designated a British National Trail, enjoying the beautiful unspoiled scenery and using the centrally placed purpose-built information centre in the charming black and white town of Knighton.
Modern scholars have revised the original view that Offa built the entire earthwork to launch his regular attacks on Wales throughout the early medieval period, as there is evidence of prior and subsequent construction. Short breaks in Wales visitors can be assured the barbaric customs of hanging Englishmen found west of the border and cutting off the ears of Welshmen crossing to the east, no longer prevail!
Short breaks in Wales visitors have found that the best remains of the earthworks can be seen within a two mile walk from the Information Centre and there is another Centre at Prestatyn at the northern end of the trail.
Offa was one of the most powerful of Mercian kings, having united his kingdom and achieved dominance over all the English kingdoms south of the Humber in the second half of the 8th century. His prestige was such that it reached a European scale and he was treated as an equal by Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor from 800AD.
The tourist brochures tell the short breaks in Wales visitor that it was Asser in 796, the Welsh courtier and biographer of Aelfred of Wessex, who started the myth that Offa built the dyke "from sea to sea." But modern scholars have said this description was a common device used by the ancient chroniclers to denote distance rather than accurate measurement.
The west-facing ditch and palisade suggest a defensive function against the Welsh but archaeologists have discovered that the dyke was not fortified or garrisoned and seemed to be more a boundary between England and Wales, as it was conventionally accepted by the 12th century and recognised by Welsh Law.
Many short breaks in Wales regulars have joined the Offa's Dyke Association, set up in 1967 to create a link between locals, walkers, historians and conservationists.
