Ross-on-Wye is a small market town located on the River Wye in rural Herefordshire in southern England. Sherlock Holmes visited the town with Dr John Watson while investigating the death of Charles McCarthy in The Boscombe Valley Mystery.
The Boscombe Valley Mystery[]
The town of Ross is located near the country district of Boscombe Valley, site of the murder of Mr Charles McCarthy. McCarthy had spent the morning in Ross before returning to his farm with a servant, citing an appointment to keep at 3. When suspicion in the case fell upon his son, James McCarthy, James was arrested and brought before the magistrates in Ross, who referred the case to the assizes.
After Sherlock Holmes agrees to take the case, he and Dr John Watson take the train from London to Ross, where they meet Lestrade before together heading to their lodgings at the Hereford Arms in town. At the inn Alice Turner arrives to protest McCarthy's innocence in his father's murder, revealing that the two had been planning to marry. Holmes and Lestrade then leave to visit McCarthy in prison in Hereford, leaving Watson behind. Upon returning Holmes shares with Watson the results of his questioning. The next morning the three set out by carriage to the crime scene in Boscombe Valley.