Hereford in Herefordshire is the largest city in the county despite the population only just exceeding 50000. It is very close to Wales (less then 30km) and is most famous for its Cathedral dating back to 1079. It was restored in the last years of the previous century. It is also home to the world renowned "chained" library. In this library every single book is chained to the bookcase and it is impossible to remove the books. You can only take them as far as the chain on the book will let you. Another spectacular issue with this library is that the books are "the wrong way round" meaning that the spine of the book is facing away from the reader. This means that the pages of the book are facing the viewer and not the spine of the book as in "normal" libraries and book stores.
Hereford is located on the Welsh Marches Line which serves cities in Wales and linking them to the main train routes in Britain. To get to major cities you will need to change stations at least once along the way.
Thanks to its rural location Hereford is the main market place and trading venue for poultry, cattle and other agricultural goods. This is also where the world famous Hereford breed comes from.
Hereford claims to be the birthplace of Nell Gwynne, the actress and mistress of King Charles 11. There are many other places that actually claim to be her hometown, including Oxford. Here in Hereford Gwynne Street, however, is named after her. When you have decided if Hereford might be right about Nell, you can have a look at the Bishops Palace, this building is the oldest inhabited building in Britain, dating back to 1204. The remarkable thing is that the Palace (which it is not) is still in use today instead of being a dormant monument.
There might not be that much going on for visitors here, but if you are looking for a quiet and peaceful city to start travelling from or to rest a little bit in, then Hereford is a perfect location as you can easily wander into Wales or go to the south or north West of England.
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