 The earliest known appreciation of the area's spectacular beauty can be dated to the beginning of the century, when John Kyrle developed the 'Prospect' at Ross-on-Wye, and it was later mentioned in verse by Alexander Pope.In 1745, John Egerton, later Bishop of Durham, started taking friends on boat trips down the valley from the rectory at Ross.The area became more widely known following the publication of works by the poet Thomas Gray, and, in particular, "Observations on the River Wye" by the Reverend William Gilpin, published in 1782.