[1] Starting from Lingen Village church car park, turn right and walk along the Brampton Bryan-Lingen road until the bend in the road. Cross over and take the road facing you (take care as there is no pavement and you need to cross over on a bend in the main road.)
Walk a short way up this road and go through the gate ahead to pick up the Herefordshire Trail. Follow the footpath signs over two stiles and walk towards the fence-line ahead. Turn left and walk down the side of farm buildings and through a gate to reach the road. Turn right on the road briefly.
The route between [1] & [2] can be very boggy and in wet conditions it is better to continue along the road, instead of taking the path. After a few hundred metres take the stile to the right which is situated immediately after passing some farm buildings on the left and just before a road junction to reach [2].
[2] Take the footpath on your right over another stile Several of the stiles on this walk are potentially hazardous and need to be treated with caution. You will now be walking through a valley with The Gullet stream and Clay Vallet Wood on the right (beware stinging nettles in the early part). There are footpath signs and a clear path for most of the way. Shortly, the path splits: take the left fork up to a gate. Continue through gate and up the valley through 3 more fence boundaries. The next short section, although well waymarked is through bracken which, when at its height, makes route finding difficult. However, when followed correctly the footpath signs will bring you to a stile. The footpath crosses over a sunken bridleway to another stile.
[3] Once over the stile climb steeply up for a short while to come out to a path with a garden on the left. Continue on this path past an interesting looking Turret/Tower on a wall and glimpses of a large house with no apparent access to it! Continue on this path until you reach another stile leading into a field. Keeping fence-line to the right continue until you reach a gate.
Once through the gate turn left on the road. Ignoring another road coming in from the right, walk a short way until a waymark & stile is reached in a high hedge on your right leading into a field. Once over the stile look straight ahead and you should be able to see the next waymark by some trees. (NB. If there is a crop growing your view of the finger post might be obscured.) Keeping the finger post in sight walk across the field to it and climb over stile. The way now descends steeply to the valley below. Make your own way down as there is no specific route, although there is a diagonal path that can be taken. At the bottom is a gate in a fence-line which you need to go through (there is no waymark here). Cross the field diagonally leftwards a short distance to find a bridge, obscured by a fallen tree, across the stream. (NB. This bridge can be very slippery so take care crossing and use the handrails.)
[4] Having negotiated the bridge safely, climb up the bank facing you taking a slightly diagonal line to your right. Now proceed ahead keeping the fenceline to your left. You will pass the ruins of a building on the left. Keep on until you come to another bank with a track/path to the left. Take this to come out into a field. Ahead and to the right should be a barn. Keeping the barn to the right continue walking and pass through a gap in the fence (this presumably had a gate at some point but not now). Look left to see a gate with a stile by the side of it. Climb over the stile and follow the hedgeline on your left until you get to the corner of the field near the house (Willey Oak). There is a stile on the right. Climb over this and onto the road. Turn left on the road and ignoring the road joining from the left continue on this road until a house called Hill Crest is reached on the right.
[5] Turn left down the metalled lane opposite the house (there are signs to New House, and The Whym). This lane eventually becomes a track and enters a wood as you reach the buildings of New House on the left. Go through the gate and continue on the track through the wood ignoring a track off to the left, and further on a track to the right. You will then arrive at the oddly named house Noisy Hall.
[6] This is the opportunity to cut the walk short if desired by taking the Herefordshire Trail path to the left of the gate just beyond Noisy Hall back into Lingen Village. Otherwise go through the gate and cross the field diagonally to the gate in the fence in the distance (this is often left open). Once through the gate make your way steeply uphill keeping to the fenceline on the left. At the top go through the gate ahead and turn left.
(A) You are now on Cole's Hill and if the weather is clear you should have a superb view. (In 2008 a large etched stainless steel toposcope was built up here which enables you to locate all the hills in a 360 degree panorama. It also provides a wall for shelter and somewhere to sit. If timings are right it's a great place for lunch!).
Continue to walk along the crest of the hill with the fence to the left (you are on a permissive path and there is way-marking to assist you). At the end of this field go through a gate to the left into a second field. Walk diagonally down across this field to the corner where you will see another waymark. Ignore any waymarks that lead off left until you reach a mast.
[7] Turn left down the field boundary to exit through a gate onto the Herefordshire Trail. Continue on this lane past Cadwell Farm until you reach the Kinsham-Lingen road (take care as there are farm vehicles & other traffic). Turn right onto the road and almost immediately cross over to fingerpost with kissing gate. You are now in the grounds of Kinsham Court.
(B) Kinsham Court was built in the early 18th century for the Harley family, Earls of Oxford, as a dower house. Byron lived here 1812-1813 and wrote the first two cantos of Childe Harold here. Florence Nightingale spent part of her childhood at the house as her family rented it. The village church is next to Kinsham Court and is still regularly used. It is 14th century in origin with evidence of 18th century woodwork.
The way through Kinsham Court grounds is well signed (take care crossing the bridge just after the kissing gate as it can be very slippery). You will arrive at a stile at the main drive to the House, in front of you there is a huge redwood tree. Cross over the drive and continue on the footpath through the grounds with good views of the House on the left.
If you have time and inclination you can make a short detour to have a look at the church at the back of the house.
The footpath goes down through woods exiting onto a lane.
[8] Turn left and continue on this lane passing a house on the right. The lane becomes a track through Yeld Wood with the River Lugg on the right. Go through two gates and come out into a pasture. Continue across the pasture following the line of the river, and crossing a small rather muddy & wet gully, then make for a gate in the fenceline diagonally to your left. Continue through the next field until you reach the next fenceline and turn left to reach a small, well-hidden gate.
[9] Very shortly you come to a track with another gate by a house (Lower Yeld). Go through the gate past the house and over the bridge to reach a lane. Turn left and continue on this lane for about half a mile until Limebrook hamlet. Just before you reach the T-junction at Limebrook, the minimal remains of Limebrook Priory are in a field to the right.
(C) Limebrook Priory is the ruined remains of a priory for nuns. It was founded here, in or before the reign of Richard 1 (1189-99), either by Rob de Lingen or one of the Mortimers. There is some confusion as to the order to which it belonged. It may have been Benedictine. In the time of Bishop Booth (1516-35), it was definitely tenanted by Augustinian Nuns. It lasted until its suppression in 1539. The ruins visible today are of a 13th century building.
At the junction turn right and keeping to the lane walk past Limebrook Mill on your left.
(D) Limebrook Mill is now a house. Probably C17, C18 and early C19 of sandstone rubble; timber-frame with weatherboards and plaster infill. Welsh slate roof. Sandstone and brick stacks. Possibly originally the Priory's Mill.
Once past the house turn left, go through a gate and walk sharply up to reach a smaller gate on the left.
[10] Go though the gate and continue down on the footpath which passes by the fields of Limebrook Mill on the left. The track eventually becomes quite broad and continues through woods until a junction of paths. Turn left, to skirt behind Lingen Hall.
(E) Lingen Hall was built in the mid 1800s for the Gisborne family who played a prominent part in village affairs until the 1930s.
Keep to this track ignoring any paths off it. Cross over three small footbridges and come to a junction where there is a footpath going off to the left, and one going off to the right through a gate.
[11] Take the righthand path which goes round the back of a property which was once Lingen Nurseries. Keep the property boundary on the left and exit through a gate onto the road through Lingen Village. Turn right. and walk through the village to the Church turning right through the Church gate and walk back to your car through the churchyard.