Sugwas Pool to Bredwardine

For this section of the walk we had to split into two groups, walking on different days because of a clash of events. This post is from the second walk on the 10th of April - a bright sunny day where temperatures reached 20 degrees. Almost two thirds of this walk is along public roads with the middle section in open country. The Wye comes into view in just two places as the path meets bends in the river.

Starting out from Sugwas we turned right and headed up a side road to Kenchester and Bishopstone and eventually back down to the main road again at Byford. Along here we noticed the large pools - one of which had a heron eying up its next meal. Crossing over the road took us down to the church where we stopped for a rest and searched for a Geo-cache which should have been in the graveyard but seemed to be missing. It was in the wall along this road we came across the wall pennywort ( see photo).

After passing through the village we walked through the orchards of Bulmers the cider makers. Members of the first group of walkers had led us to believe that the trees would be in blossom but they still have some way to go. After a while we came across our first view of the river. From here we moved on to Monnington Walk, created in in the mid 1600's to commemorate the owners election as an MP. This lovely walk is lined with pines and yews and made an enticing spot to stop for lunch.


Monnington Walk looking towards The Scar.






The path then leads uphill to The Scar about a hundred feet above the river and the wood contains a number of very old oaks. One of these overhangs the river which was where we found another geocache. The Scar provides a wonderful view of the river as it loops around from our destination at Bredwardine.






View from The Scar of the river Wye.








From here we came back onto the public roads which take us down eventually to the bridge at Bredwardine. This single track bridge built in the mid 17oo's was the first stone bridge built across the river Wye in Herefordshire. A path at the far end of the bridge took us up to the church and the end of the walk.

The track: Hampton Bishop to Sugwas Pool

Using Trimble outdoors on my phone - this was the track we took.

Click on the 'trip details' below to see elevation data/more detail

Hampton Bishop to Sugwas Pool

After all the January bad weather it was fortunate we picked a sunny February day to make this section of the walk. We started off at 10.30am with a clear blue sky and set off for Hereford. The first part of the walk took us along the raised bank, known locally as The Stank, before descending to the river. This bank was built as a flood defence following the disastrous flood in 1960. After a short while we came back up to the road to enter Hereford and as we joined the river again we were presented with the splendid view of Victoria bridge and Hereford Cathedral.


After crossing the bridge we took a short break here beside the river before following it round to cross at old disused railway bridge. As we continued along the river bank with the Water Works museum on our right we saw in the field a small gauge railway track laid out. Further on on a sign said the path was closed due to a land slip. However, we continued anyway knowing there were accessible fields on our right. As you can see from the picture this was a case of "elth and safety" as it was clearly possible for sensible adults to navigate the obstruction.



We left the river at the Breinton Nature Reserve and set off up a track and over the hill and down to the river. Here we came across the wonderful sight of the snow drops growing along the bank. There were even a couple of daffodils out as well. We then climbed steadily up to the road through newly planted orchards. We then took the road to The Travellers Rest at Stretton Sugwas for a well earned Sunday lunch before returning home with some very sore feet.

Brockhampton to Hampton Bishop

Well it is now truly winter and after the wettest November since records began we were grateful for a cold dry winters day. We all met up at the Village Hall in Brockhampton and after shuffling the cars set off for the view point to regain the Wye Valley Walk. I did not take long before we missed a turning and sailed on down the hill oblivious to our mistake. Unable to get back on track we had to retrace our steps and follow a very muddy track down to the main road.

This section of the walk took us away from the river and across country once more. After a while we entered Pagets Wood and then to the nature reserves on Common Hill where we walked along the ridge. It was here we came across a couple of deer grazing quietly amongst the trees.

After coming out of the woods we crossed more open country until we came to Mordiford and the river Lugg. Here we crossed the bridge and embarked upon the last couple of miles to Hampton Bishop and the warm welcome of the Bunch of Carrots public house beside the river Wye. Here we sat down for well earned carvery of either roast pork, turkey or beef washed down with some locally brewed ales.

Ross to Brockhampton

Why can't the weather forecasters get it right? It was supposed to be a sunny, but windy day. They forgot to mention the rain. Still, it was light and intermittent and did not spoil our lunch or the day.This section is almost all on the flat with much of it spent close to the river. Leaving Ross behind presents a good view of the town and church. The canoeists were out in force as were the swans. After a while we came across the disused railway line with its stone pillars still standing in the waters of the Wye.

The foot bridge at Foy looks like it's been there for quite a while providing a means to get to the church on the opposite bank (Foy Bridge of 1876 was washed away by floods and replaced in 1921 apparently). As we approached Hole in the Wall and the PGL leisure centre (named after its founder Peter Gordon Lawrence) we came across a shrub in the hedgerow covered in bright coral pink seed heads. This turned out to be a Spindleberry bush.

An amazing sight was that of an old tree which from a view point on the opposite bank looked just like an angel with a prayer book. Later on we stopped for lunch on the bend in the river near Court Gardens and lo and behold the sun came out. Once again we saw a pair of buzzards circling this time over Capel Woods.

The approach to Brockhampton took us up to about 100 metres on a slow climb to the view point. From here we could look back along the river and the surrounding countryside. Before returning home we took a short walk to the village to see the church and its collection of wonderful embroidery and goldwork.(This church has now been replicated in a Japanese tower block in Osaka for weddings!) See.http://www.brockhampton.com/church.htm for details.

The track: Kerne Bridge to Ross on Wye

The actual track that we took:

Kerne Bridge to Ross on Wye

Another lovely sunny day, September has been a good month for walking. A number of the group were unable to make this walk although some will tackle it separately to ensure they complete all the sections.



This section of the walk does not follow the river Wye but heads off across country. We started with a steep climb up through Warren Wood to Leys Hill using what is obviously an ancient path with trees on both sides and many rabbit warrens dug into the banks on the east side. This is a very pretty walk with lots of nice secluded properties perched on the hillside. Eventually the path leads downhill to emerge onto the road at the village of Coughton.



From here we started the steep long climb to the top of Chase Wood. A bird watching hide in the field below hinted at something interesting. It was then we saw a pair of buzzards above the tree line. Eventually we reached the top and later emerged into farm land where we stopped to admire the view towards Ross and the A40 and and had our lunch. For some reason the path is not so well signposted here and we ended up emerging from a field only to see a sign "MOD Property Keep OUT". Luckily it did not seemed to be mined, it was only the bullocks that gave as a bit of a stare.



The path then took us along some quiet paths to the south of Ross town centre and down to the riverside car park. From here we drove back to Kerne Bridge and a well earned drink at the Inn on the Wye.