Herefordshire is an inland an border county of southwest England in the western
Midlands, bounded on the north by
Shropshire, east by
Worcestershire, south by
Gloucestershire, and on the west by the Welsh counties of
Breconshire and
Radnorshire. Its area is 843 square miles.
On the southwest border are the Black Mountains, which rise to 2000 feet. On the east is the Malvern range, of which the Hereford Beacon at 1195 feet is the highest point. The principal rivers of the shire are the Wye, with its tributaries the Luff, Arrow, and Monnow, along with the Teme and the Frome. The county is well wooded, pastoral, and generally agricultural. The most important towns in the county are Hereford, the county seat, along with Ross, Kingstone, Leominster, and Ledbury. The county was once part of the kingdom of Mercia.
