The Best Books About Herefordshire & the Welsh Borders
Herefordshire and the Welsh Borders are areas of the United Kingdom with a rich history and a unique mix of people who have settled along this frontier across the centuries. As such, the region has not only been written about by a host of legendary authors, but is also home to the bookshop capital of the UK, Hay-On-Wye. Here are just some of the best books about Herefordshire, the Marches, and the rugged borderlands of Wales.
Meadowland
by John Lewis-Stempel
Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field by John Lewis-Stempel is an intimate, month-by-month chronicle of a single ancient field on the author’s farm in Herefordshire, near the Welsh border.
The Old Straight Track
by Alfred Watkins
Centered largely on his native Herefordshire, Watkins writes about the prehistoric people who navigated the land via a sophisticated system of sighting points, such as hilltops, holy wells, and standing stones, also known as ley-lines. While modern archaeology views these alignments as coincidental, the book remains a classic, transforming the way we perceive the hidden geometry and sacred history of the Welsh Marches.
Hamnet
by Maggie O'Farrell
A reimagining of the life of Shakespeare’s son and the devastating impact of his early death on William Shakespeare and his wife. Set in Elizabethan Stratford-upon-Avon, the recent 2026 film adaptation, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, brought the story to life in the Black and White villages of Herefordshire. Filming locations included Weobley village.
Running for the Hills
by Horatio Clare
A lyrical memoir of a childhood spent on a remote sheep farm on the slopes of the Black Mountains. It captures the beauty and hardship of rural life in the Welsh borders, charting his parents’ ambitious move from London and the eventual breakdown of their marriage. Clare paints a masterful portrait of a landscape that is both majestic and unforgiving, serving as a love letter to the rugged hills that shaped his life.
On The Black Hill
by Bruce Chatwin
On the Black Hill follows the eighty-year lives of identical twins, Lewis and Benjamin Jones, on their remote farm straddling the Herefordshire-Wales border. Bound by an intense, almost telepathic connection, the brothers remain tethered to their land and each other while the world changes around them. A hauntingly beautiful portrait of rural endurance and the timeless, rugged spirit of the Marches.
The Once and Future King
by TH White
A collection of 4 interconnected novels about the Arthurian legend, famously drawing inspiration from the author’s time living in the Welsh Borders. The first book, The Sword in the Stone, reflects the lush woods and medieval atmosphere of the Marches, where a young Arthur is tutored by Merlin. Blending whimsical fantasy with a deep love for the English countryside, White creates a timeless epic.
The Marches
by Rory Stewart
Rory Stewart embarks on an epic walk along the Anglo-Scottish border and through the Cumbrian fells, using the journey to explore the complex layers of history, identity, and landscape. He examines how borders shape the people and heritage of the British Isles.
Landed
by Tim Pears
A novel that follows the life of Joe Gornall. After a tragic accident disrupts his life, Joe embarks on a journey back to his ancestral home in the Welsh Marches, a landscape rendered with exquisite, sensory detail. Pears captures the specific soul of the border country, its weather, its ancient woods and its quiet resilience.
The Old Ways
by Robert Macfarlane
Macfarlane explores the ancient tracks, holloways and sea-roads that crisscross the landscape of Britain, including the paths of the Welsh Marches. Macfarlane’s writing treats the landscape as a living library, showing how these historic routes connect the modern walker to the past of the Herefordshire and Welsh frontier.
If you’re ready to step back in time yourself, to explore the historic sites and hidden paths of Herefordshire, check out our Herefordshire electric bike heritage trail.
