Hereford

Herefordshire is a rural county and this is reflected in its transport links to Hereford. Roads from Gloucester or other places tend to be slow and bus transport from neighbouring counties isn't exceptional.

By train

There are two main rail lines to Hereford station, one north-south, from Manchester to Wales and another branch from London, Oxford, the Cotswolds, via Worcester and finally Hereford. Direct trains from London Paddington take 3:05 to 3:32 hours to reach Hereford. There are five direct trains per day from London to Hereford. There is a more frequent train service from London Paddington to Hereford by taking the express trains heading for Cardiff and changing at Newport onto the line for Hereford.

By plane

The average journey time from London (LHR) to Hereford by car would be over 2 hours, depending on traffic.
Alternatively Birmingham Airport (BHX) is about 64 miles away with a journey time of about 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Trains link Hereford with the towns of Ledbury and Leominster and the village of Colwall and other towns outside Herefordshire such as Ludlow and Abergavenny. For the Herefordshire towns of Bromyard, Kington and Ross-on-Wye and smaller villages and places to visit there are buses. Buses to Leominster, Ludlow, Kington, Llandrindod Wells, Hay-on-Wye, Brecon and Monmouth leave from outside the railway station and also stop at the Country Bus Station. Services to Abergavenny, Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff, Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury, Bromyard and Worcester and most villages leave from the "County Bus Station" (behind the cinema on Commercial road - about 3 minutes walk from the station). City services start from the Shire Hall in St. Peter's Square or the "City Bus Station" at the rear of the Tesco supermarket in Bewell Street.
There are also daily National Express coaches to Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford, Gloucester, Swindon, Heathrow Airport and London (Victoria).

• Hereford CathedralThe Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin and St Ethelbert the King, established in 1079.

• Mappa mundi

  address: Hereford Cathedral
  An internationally important medieval map of the world, drawn in the 13th century.

• Chained Library

  address: Hereford Cathedral

Old HouseA well-preserved Elizabethan (?) merchant's (?) house in the centre of town.

• Go to the races at Hereford Racecourse, but only in winter as (unusually) it's only a jumps course. It's on A4103, Roman Road HR4 9QU, a mile northwest of town centre.

Hereford has a good choice of shops including chain and independent stores such as:

• iStore - Apple Premium Reseller and Authorised Service Provider
• Marks and Spencers
• Primark
• Next
• Dorothy Perkins
• Monsoon
• Ann Summers
• Animal
• H&M's
• TK-Maxx
• Boots
• tReds - Independent trainer shop

Also be sure to check out the small retro shops in the arcade next to the police station and the sweet shops in the centre of town.

Sociable city with good pubs and usually only a few fights on weekends.

• The Kings Fee

  phone: +44 1432 373240
  address: 49–53 Commercial Rd, HR1 2BJ
  Wetherspoons pub.

• Alberta House B&B

  phone: +44 1432 297102
  address: 5-13 Newtown Road, HR4 9LH
  Pleasant, great value family-run B&B with comfortable rooms and ample private parking.

• Castle House Hotel

  phone: +44 1432 356321
  address: Castle Street

Hereford forms a great base for access to and accommodation for the annual Literary Festival in nearby Hay-on-Wye.