The Offa's Dyke Path is one of fifteen designated National Trails of England and Wales. Opened in 1971, today it is a 285-kilometre footpath along the Welsh-English border and across the Clwydian uplands, through the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire. Radnorshire, Radnorshire, Montgomeryshire, Shropshire, Denbighshire, and Flintshire. There’s no escaping history when you walk The Offa’s Dyke Path. So here is an introduction to its truly incredible past.
Offa’s Dyke – The Origins
Today Offa’s Dyke refers to the earthwork (a large, artificial bank of soil) which extends from the River Severn near Chepstow for 170 miles to Prestatyn on the northern coast of Wales. It was built by Offa in the 8th century. Offa was a great King of Mercia (757 to 796), whose aim was to clearly define the border between England and Wales, and ultimately protect the territory of his kingdom from marauding Welsh rebels.
Interestingly the full origins of the Dyke are still shrouded in mystery. And the nature of its construction and its true purpose are still not fully known. Asser, the biographer of King Alfred (871-886), gave the first known reference to it when in the ninth century he wrote “a certain vigorous King called Offa……had a great dyke built between Wales and Mercia from sea to sea”.
It seems likely that the Dyke was constructed in around 785 AD in response to events in the Welsh-English border region involving the Kingdom of Powys. However a recent excavation at Plas Offa near Chirk involved radio carbon testing, which found turf within the bank had a possible origin as early as the fifth century AD, while a few metres away another sample indicated a ninth-century date.
Historians are unsure whether or not the dyke truly served as a defensive structure, or whether it was constructed as a mutually agreed boundary between the English and the Welsh. But during this time in English history the ‘Mercian regime’ was certainly endeavouring to rival the continental empire of Charlemagne, who was the charismatic leader of the Kingdom of the Franks (modern day France). Historians argue that in a bid to secure supremacy Offa was attempting to annexe and reaffirm portions of Welsh territory through the construction of the dyke. And Offa’s Dyke would certainly bolster Mercia’s standing as a great European power.
A sign at the start of The Offa's Dyke Path.
How Was it Built?
The construction of Offa’s Dyke undoubtedly required the work of thousands of men. Historians believe that each portion of the structure was constructed by men from different districts. The Dyke was never garrisoned but it was certainly built to impress militarily. It was large and built to dominate the landscape, to possibly serve as a quasi customs control system on the border, and certainly it was designed to monitor and survey the Welsh forces.
Ironically Offa died in 796 in a battle against the Welsh. But today his most famous achievement — Britain's longest ancient monument — remains in tact.