Walk Details
On this stage of the Wye Valley Walk, after a steep climb out of Ross, it’s a stage that offers a mixture of farmland and woodland walking. If you are doing this one stage, we’d recommend leaving your car at Kerne Bridge and then catching the 34 bus which runs between Monmouth and Ross to take you to the start of the stage.
We’re starting our walk today at the Hope and Anchor in Ross on Wye. Facing the pub, walk to the left of The Pavilion (on the left hand side) and follow in the footsteps of earlier Wye Tourists, taking the steps up to the road.
Turn left and head uphill along Wye Street. Pass the leaping salmon sculpture, by internationally renowned sculptor Walenty Pytel, which stands in front of the Man of Ross pub. Cross the road to walk along High Street for a short distance. If you would like to explore the town and its independent shops and vintage shopping trail continue along High Street.
Just after the King’s Head Hotel turn right along Church Street. Very soon on the left are the Tudor almshouses, built of local red sandstone. Here we turn, to go up the curved steps and walk diagonally towards St Mary’s Church, passing the Plague Cross which remembers the 315 citizens of Ross who died in the outbreak of plague in 1637 and were buried at night without coffins. To the right you can see the Gazebo Tower and Royal Hotel.
Walk past the entrance to St Mary’s Church and then around the corner of the church. Keep right to go through the impressive stone gateway into The Prospect. It’s a gateway that hints at the elegance of this place in days gone by. Follow the path around the park, which has far-reaching views across the horseshoe bend of the Wye, stretching from Brampton Abbotts to the Welsh Mountains. It’s interesting to see the direction of Hay-on-Wye and Hereford, passed through on earlier stages of this walk, on the stone plinth adjacent to the Beacon, which is lit for celebratory events.
We leave The Prospect through the ornate Kyrle’s Gateway, with the date 1700 carved into the stonework. Turn left and keep straight on to reach the entrance gates to the churchyard. We then turn right to walk across Crossfield car park to the left, passing the bowling club and tennis courts. At the B4234 you need to go straight across and head down the residential road in front of you called Kent Avenue, but there is no sign for it at this end of the street! Use the pedestrian crossing to the right to cross the road and then walk down Kent Avenue. At the bottom of Kent Avenue turn right by ‘Ashdean’ to walk along Alton Street. At the end of Alton Street turn right down Penyard Lane, walking past the industrial estate, over the cycle crossing and passing Alton Court, a 17th century timber-framed building which is now the headquarters of PGL (Parents Get Lost – the leading provider of adventure courses for schools and children across the country).
When the road ends take the path on the left through a kissing gate that takes us through a wood. Keep left to go through another kissing gate into a field. Turn right to follow the field boundary uphill, through a gate into the wood. Turn right to go through a second gate straightaway. Ignore crossing tracks and pass Merrivale Wood Nature Reserve.
When the path leaves the wood, turn right and go through the kissing gate and keep left through woodland. Keep left at the fork, though a kissing gate. Walk straight ahead, ignoring side paths and passing the Forestry barrier. Where the track forks at the phone mast, we keep left to climb steadily uphill. As the path widens around Chase Hill stay on the main track, and when the track bears left you can see humps and bumps of the Iron Age hillfort to your right.
Ignore the path to the right and, where four tracks converge at a large conifer in the middle of the track, take the second exit (easy to miss as it’s a very small path) downhill, through fir trees. The path descends quite steeply and down a set of steps. When you reach the field turn left to go down the path on the left of the field fence (Note: this route may not be shown on your OS map). Go through the kissing gate and straight on heading to a gate to the left of houses, passing a carved millstone, and through more gates to reach the road. The Wye Valley Farm Gate Shop is on the left, which may, depending on season, be selling local rhubarb or asparagus. If it’s open when you pass – it’s certainly worth popping in for a tasty treat!
Turn left and walk along the road. After a short distance turn right (after Coughton Mill), through a kissing gate and keep to the left field boundary up to the gate. Cross the lane towards Craig Farm and go through another gate onto a path which climbs through mature trees. The path bears left across the field to a gateway, through another gate and then bears right up to a gravel track. Turn right and at the next junction turn right, winding around scattered houses. Keep straight on where two lines of concrete become gravel, soon emerging onto a road. Go straight across, following the path down through woodland, a kissing gate, down a steep fenced off path, over a stream and into the vineyard at Upper Wythall.
From here we’re going down a wooded stretch on a narrow path. At the junction keep left to go straight on as the path widens on the woodland edge. At The Rock the path joins a lane coming up from the right in front of a stone building. At the nearby junction of paths we’re keeping straight on, ignoring paths on either side. Go straight on to where power lines cross overhead, ignoring paths to the left. Go through a gateway, passing Tump House on the left. At the junction turn left, climbing up a lane. Keep straight on at Cherry Tree Cottage – this is a steep section, with lovely coppiced trees lining the path. When you reach two houses, go straight on opposite the sign for Rose Cottage, between the two properties. Very soon turn right to go down a footpath between fields and through two gates. Go straight over in front of Ravenshurst sign and then left down steps and around the house down to the road at Kerne Cottage. Turn right. Cross the road at the junction and go through a gap in the hedge, in the bus stop layby, into the car park beside Bishopswood Village Hall where this stage ends.
To the left is Kerne Bridge Canoe Launch, where there is a refreshment van, The Paddle Café, during summer months. Don’t forget to collect your passport stamp from The Inn on the Wye to your right just before you cross Kerne Bridge.
If you need to get back to Ross on Wye again – the 34 bus between Ross-On-Wye and Monmouth (operating daily) stops at Kerne Bridge or the less frequent 746 bus between Ross-on-Wye and Kerne Bridge (not Sundays) or will take you.
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