Ross

More than 10,000 people have taken courses at the Dhamma Dipa meditation centre, situated between Hereford and Ross, since it opened in 1991. The centre teaches Indian Vipassana - which means 'to see things as they really are' - meditation. One of India's most ancient meditation techniques, it focuses on the connection between mind and body. ...more

Ross has two Gloucester Roads - Gloucester Road and Old Gloucester Road - as a result of George IV's carriage being held up by a farmer's cart in the town's narrow streets. He demanded the town widen its roads or be removed from the lucrative mail route, so the town acquiesced and built a new road out towards Gloucester. ...more

The only place in the UK to grow asparagus that's so sweet it can be eaten raw is Cobrey Farms outside Ross. Imported from New Zealand, the Pacific Blue strain contains no lignin, which means it doesn't have to be cooked to soften but also means it has to be supported artificially while it grows. Some other surprising exotic foods are binn in Ross. ...more

From the mid 19th until the early 20th century, nearly every third building in Ross was an alehouse. There were specially extended licensing hours on market days, and the pure spring water from the local hills meant there were countless breweries in the area. The pewter bar in the New Inn at St Owen's Cross was previously in the Hole in the Wall pub (now Wyenet's premises) for more than 100 years. ...more

Ross can trace its history back as far as Stone Age settlements. The river was known as the Vaga in Roman times, while the Celts and Saxons used to call the area 'the land of the hedgehog' - the town's symbol is still the hedgehog. In the 18th century the Wye Tour, which called at Ross and Symonds Yat, was extremely popular with wealthy visitors, Dickens and Lord Nelson among them. ...more

Virtually the only place in England where it's possible to see breeding peregrine falcons is at Symonds Yat, from May onwards. The falcons have been nesting in the cliffs at Coldwell Rocks in the Forest of Dean for the last 20 years, and up to 50,000 people visit the RSPB/Forestry Commission viewing platform at Yat Rock each year. Here RSPB volunteers are on hand as visitors watch the falcons through powerful telescopes. ...more

Those huge trees along the Gloucestershire/Herefordshire border are perry pear trees. The trees can grow to anything up to 15m and the border area is one of the main areas for the production of perry - similar to cider but made with pears. The tradition of cider making goes back at least 350 years in Herefordshire and there's even designated 'cider routes' for drivers and cyclists to tour the cider farms. ...more

Alexander Pope's poem 'The Man of Ross' is about John Kyrle, the local philanthropist, whom Pope saw as 'an example to greater and wealthier men how they ought to use their fortunes.' A monument to Kyrle can be found in St Mary's church and the John Kyrle walk was restored as a millennium project in 1999. There's also Kyrle Street, the Man of Ross Inn and John Kyrle High School. ...more

Creative industries in Herefordshire saw a 238 per cent increase in turnover - and 314 per cent increase in profit - between 2004 and 2007. ...more

In 1745, the rector, Dr John Egerton, started taking friends on boat trips down the Valley from the rectory at Ross. ...more