Walk Details
This is a fairly easy stage of the Wye Valley Walk, taking us along quiet country lanes, filed edge paths and a short section of road walking.
Our walk today starts at the Red Lion Hotel in Bredwardine, where parking is available. There is one bus only returning from Hereford to Bredwardine at 5.20pm if you leave your car in Bredwardine.
There is no morning bus going in the opposite direction so a taxi may be the only workable option if you are reliant on public transport.
From the Red Lion Hotel we’re taking the road signposted towards Staunton and Brobury House, passing the war memorial on our left to walk along the road for a short distance and then turning right towards St Andrew’s Church.
In front of the church we turn left, passing The Old Rectory to the right (where Kilvert lived), before going over a stile and across the field down to the road. Go over the stile and turn right to cross Brobury Bridge.
Continue along the road, we’re going uphill and passing Brobury House Gardens.
When we reach the crossroads, turn right and stay on this lane until reaching a T-junction where we turn left. When the lane levels out at the top of the hill, branch right down a path to the right of the field gate. The path soon opens out at a place called Brobury Scar.
We keep on the path running high above the Wye, until we reach a fork. Here we go left, but make sure to pause for a moment and look to your right where the sweet chestnuts stand. Go through the gate (SO 354 444) and walk along the field edge to your right. Go through another gateway into a huge arable field that is so characteristic of farming on the Herefordshire Plain. At the end of the second field, we turn right through the gate onto Monnington Walk.
Keep walking as the path becomes a tarmac lane. As we near Monnington Court, just before the first sculpture, we turn left.
Straightaway look out for the Bulmers orchard on the right and then turn right before the gate. Follow the grassy track around Monnington Court, through a gateway, passing buildings on the right to arrive at St Mary’s Church, Monnington.
We follow the path through the graveyard to the left of the church and into the orchard, keeping to the right of the trees. The path keeps to the right of the orchard, briefly meeting the Wye (though hard to see in summer) before turning left away from the river, along a wide cutting in the trees.
At the Bulmers’ sign we go straight on, over the footbridge and turn left to walk around the edge of the orchard. At a gap in the hedge, we keep straight on, to the right of the orchard on a gravel track. Look out for the ancient oak on the right. Follow the track through the orchard with more veteran oaks. We’re keeping straight on until the farm track meets the tarmac lane, where we turn left and walk up to Byford Church, which is on the right and where this stage ends.
Whilst there are no services in Byford, the 446 bus service between Staunton-on-Wye and Hereford stops at Byford (not Sundays). The 447 bus service from Bredwardine to Hereford also stops here (there is only one early bus and one late bus Monday to Friday), which only works if you want to return from Hereford to Bredwardine at 5.20pm.
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