WALK A WALK AROUND BROMYARD Bromyard Start/Parking: Park in Ups the Conquest Theatre car park on the B4214 Tenbury and Road. GR 653548 Maps: Explorer 202 romyard makes a Downs 2 Distance: Five miles wonderful walking centre. Grade: Moderate There is varied walking Tom Fisher of Leadon Vale Ramblers leads Stiles: Four 1 country on your doorstep, a haunting five-mile town and country walk Nearest town: Bromyard Bwith two fine commons in Refreshments: Bromyard has a Bromyard Downs and Bringsty wide variety of pubs, bars, cafés 3 Common, a great range of places to eat book of walks called Walks Around of Bromyard – with many buildings of and restaurants and drink and there are plenty of places Bromyard. It costs £3 and is available great historical interest – on to the MAP COURTESY OF THE ORDNANCE SURVEY Toilets: In the car park to stay. Bromyard also has good public from the Bromyard centre or Food for magnificent Bromyard Downs, and then Public transport: 420 bus route transport, in particular the 420 bus All (01885 483359). Bromyard is explores the haunted church of connects Bromyard with Hereford which runs between Hereford and hoping to gain national recognition as Avenbury, the river Frome and finishes and Worcester. Details from Worcester. As well as getting into Walkers Are Welcome town, following on the Herefordshire Trail. Not bad for Traveline 0871 2002233 Bromyard itself, you can use the 420 for in the footsteps of Ross-on-Wye, a five mile walk. 5 many linear walks: catch the bus to already featured in Herefordshire Whitbourne, Brockhampton School Life, and more than 40 other towns 1. From the Conquest Theatre car park, To view a larger version of this map visit (for the Downs) or Bringsty Common in Great Britain. go down the alleyway by the Bromyard www.herefordshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk and walk back. There is also an excellent This walk takes you from the middle Centre. Turn left into Cruxwell Street and right down Rowberry Street. Then 4 take the footpath on the left, just past the public hall. Pause to admire Ann Campbell’s Resting Sheep sculpture and go through St Peter’s churchyard to the track/path. Soon you reach the Downs The Ramblers Stourport road. Cross to the other road. Cross it and, bearing half-left, The Ramblers is pavement and turn left along it until climb to the top of the ridge, choosing Britain’s biggest you reach the Holly Tree pub at the whatever route suits you. charity working bottom of Burying Lane. Once you have gained the ridge, to promote 2. Immediately take the footpath on pause to enjoy the views of Titterstone walking and improve conditions your left via a kissing gate and continue Clee (easy to spot because it has a golf for all walkers. In Herefordshire up the hill through a metal gate, a ball on top), the Bromyard Plateau, the there are four groups: Hereford, kissing gate and another small gate. Black Mountains and the Malverns. Mortimer, Ross-on-Wye and When you emerge on a track, continue Bromyard Downs is an exhilarating area Leadon Vale. up the hill, and when the track veers of 800 acres of common land, and so For more information contact left, continue straight ahead on a grassy you can walk anywhere (except through Tom Fisher, tel: 01886 821544 or email: [email protected] ❝ Bromyard Downs is an private gardens). Now you meet few people except for dog walkers but in the exhilarating area 19th century there was a racecourse on of 800 acres of the Downs which attracted up to 7,000 people, many coming by train from common land Birmingham. The races ceased in 1905. ❞ Turn right in front of the wood and maintain your height. You feel on top of the world as you stride along (in fact you are only 230 metres above sea level). Follow the ridge to the end as it Pass though St Peter’s churchyard before heading for the open road The Frome Valley is full of descends gently to Brockhampton geological interest School. 108 September 2010 www.herefordshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk www.herefordshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk September 2010 109 WALK Right The road to Bromyard Downs Below (left to right) The Heritage Centre; The Bay Horse Inn; Avenbury Church; Tower House 3. Opposite the school, cross the Downs published by the Earth Heritage Trust the lane for half a mile before taking a road and, by a telegraph pole, take the (01905 855184). Follow the path past path on the left across a stile, and grass path downhill. Soon the path the deserted church of St Mary down to the river Frome (again!). Turn bends to the right and flattens out. Avenbury. right along the bank, then cross the Carry on until you come to an The church is said to be haunted – by river and keep to the left bank until the intersection of grass paths. Turn sharp no fewer than three ghosts. First, you path joins a track, which is also the left down the hill and you will can still hear the organ playing (I’m not Herefordshire trail. The Herefordshire eventually emerge on the A44. Cross the sure of the tune) . Secondly, the ghost of trail is a 150 mile circular route, devised A44 with care and take a diagonal route Nicholas Vaughan is said to haunt the by the Hereford Group of the Ramblers, across grassland to join the lane by a churchyard. He was said to have burned and it takes in all the market towns in block of apartments. This was one of the Bishop's houses and was the county and is an excellent way to get Bromyard Workhouse. It was built in executed for his crime, and haunted the to know the county. Turn right along 1836 to house 160 people who until area until caught and buried in a silver the track and you soon reach Bromyard then had housed, clothed and fed by box, under a large stone in the river. hospital. Carry straight on past the their own parishes. Later the building The huge stone in the river also splendid timbers of Tower House, where became a hospital and then an old features in the final ghost story. An King Charles 1 is reputed to have stayed people’s home. elderly brother and sister who lived in on his way to relieve Hereford in 1645. Follow this quiet lane for almost a Avenbury since the beginning of the Cross the A44 by the underpass , walk mile towards Avenbury till you come to 20th century believed that the stone down Pump Street, then turn left into a cross-roads. covered the grave of a wicked the High Street and you are soon back 4. Go straight across towards woman who was thought to be a at the Bromyard centre. ■ Munderfield, cross the Frome and after witch. The villagers refused to let 200 yards take a stile on your right her be buried in the churchyard and which is well concealed in the hedge. so she was laid to rest within site of The Frome valley is full of geological the church. interest, which is fully described in the 5. Continue along the path, re-cross the Frome Valley Discovery Guide, Frome and join a lane. Turn left along 110 September 2010 www.herefordshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk.