The tourist office has a reasonably long list of B&Bs , and the pick of them is Charades , 34 Southbank Rd (tel 01432/269444; no credit cards; A?40-50), with six comfortable, en-suite guest rooms in a large Victorian house a short walk from the centre. Further out, in the countryside about two miles south of town off the A49, is Grafton Villa Farm (tel 01432/268689; no credit cards; A?50-60), which offers three tastefully decorated bedrooms in the Georgian farmhouse of a working farm. As for hotels , the Green Dragon Hotel , Broad Street (tel 01432/272506; A?110-150), occupies a grand Georgian building with frilly iron balustrades right in the centre.

For food , choices are limited, but one reasonably good option is the inexpensive Firenze , a pasta and pizza place just beyond the ring road, five minutes' walk northeast of High Town, at 21 Commercial Rd (tel 01432/270183; closed Sun). A second choice is the Aroon Rai Tai , 50 Widemarsh St (tel 01432/279971), a moderately priced Thai restaurant. When it comes to drinking , things get more interesting. Cider is a local speciality and there's a local brewery, too - the Wye Valley Brewery, whose trademark bitter is the redoubtable Dorothy Goodbody's. You can try both at the best pub in town, The Barrels , five minutes' walk southeast of High Town, on St Owen's Street.