This beautiful walk follows the River Wye, before rising on the hills near Llowes, with excellent panoramic views of the Wye Valley. It continues through farmland and emerges in the historic village of Clyro – made famous by the Reverend Francis Kilvert, whose published diaries described rural late Victorian life as curate of the parish of Clyro from 1865 to 1872 – finishing back at Hay Bridge.
[1] From Hay Bridge (SO228426), keep to the pavement on the right till you reach a waymarked gate on your left, near Wyecliff drive. Follow the Wye Valley Walk, which is well maintained and waymarked.
[2] At a sign marked for Wye Valley alternative route (SO207422), follow the path along the field edge, towards the A438. Cross with care, heading for the waymarked stile. Aim between two conifer plantations to reach a waymarked stile in the top-left corner of the field.
[3] Follow the hedge boundary on your right leading to a waymarked gate. In the next field, aim diagonally to the stile on the right side in the corner. Follow the hedge on the left and go through a waymarked gate and then over a double stile.
[4] On a right diagonal, head across an open field to the furthest gate and continue with the hedge on your right towards a mast. Go through the gate on the right to follow the left hedge till you reach a stile on the left (not waymarked). At the end of the gravel track, turn right down the road towards Clyro.
[5] Look out for a waymarked gate on the left (SO210434) just before the sign for the school. The path goes through a small metal gate and along the edge of a garden (the owners acknowledge this is a public right of way). Go through a wooden gate and turn right along the fence.
[6] Follow the path though a further two metal gates and turn right at SO211437, which goes through a gate and stile and then turns left onto a tarmac lane.
[7] At the road turn right and head towards the wicket gate in the churchyard. Continue on past the church and then take the road left through the village, towards the Kilvert Museum on your right. Turn right down a lane (SO214438) with a post box at the beginning just before the Kilvert museum.
[8] Cross the A438 and look left for the public footpath sign and a gate with a stile. The path is straight ahead across the field between two areas of newly planted trees. Look for a waymarked post on the right and follow the trail, aiming for a stile in the left-hand corner of the field.
[9] Continue through the field with the hedge on the left. Halfway across – where a field boundary has been removed - aim diagonally to the right and look for a half-hidden waymarked stile in the far right corner next to gates.
[10] Aim diagonally left to a waymarked stile and gate, and go straight ahead to the next stile. Bear half right to a stile at the field corner and follow the hedge until you reach a gate, then follow the road left back to the start point.