This
countryside and landscape in part of the UK is an area of contrasts, with
flatter arable land on the English side of the border and undisturbed hilly
pasture land on the Welsh side.
As can
be seen from the map the villages and place names generally reflect the
two languages, but around Oswestry some Welsh names are found on the English
side of the border - indicating the historical fluidity of the boundary.
The area between Offa's Dyke and Wat's Dyke was supposedly once 'no man's
land'. It is said that Offa's Dyke was built by King Offa in an attempt
to define the boundary; may be? The reasons for building Wat's Dyke
are even more unclear, although perhaps an earlier attempt to define the
boundary!
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