The River Wye seems to epitomise our idea of the picturesque, as it meanders past castles set high on the clifftop and loops around lush meadows bounded by steep wooded slopes. Indeed the Wye river valley was heralded as the perfect landscape back in the 18th century when the idea of Picturesque, literally making a beautiful picture or painting, was popularised by William Gilpin who wrote a best selling guidebook about his Wye Valley Tour. As 18th century travellers found…
