Leobro three

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

I walked this in late July out of necessity (non-existent public transport) rather than pleasure. I'll caveat this review by saying that I did divert from the Slow Way for a small section due to navigation errors.

It seems to almost entirely follow the Herefordshire Trail, which helps with wayfinding, although there are quite a few ambiguous signs and undefined paths through fields of crop leaving you to guess where you need to go, this can be a real motivation killer. I'm glad it was dry weather otherwise I would have been soaked and unhappy. As it was I got a fair few scratches from the footpath along the edge of the field being crowded out by wheat on one side and brambles or thistles on the other. The road sections are not unpleasant in the slightest, don't hesitate to divert onto the local minor roads if you feel that's easier.

I was wearing a *very* heavy rucksack which didn't really help and I would advise against this if at all possible! It's a hilly and pretty unforgiving and remote area and there are no shops or pubs, and very few other signs of civilisation.

The exception to this being the Church of St Leonard in Hatfield (https://goo.gl/maps/tK6FfP5F7Z4q485q6) which was open and I was able to use the toilet, also there's a water tap on the outside wall which the friendly local that I spoke to also encouraged me to use.

There's a campsite en route but I wild camped close by to it in an empty field - nobody is around to see you and even then I doubt they care. I don't think I saw one other person on the footpaths, only the roads.

There is a stile in the corner of a field a few miles north of Bromyard that's surrounded by a deep, disgusting pool of sheep shit (see photo). I have no doubt that this is an intentional move by a contemptuous livestock farmer - just hop the fence instead.

There are a couple of other stiles in poor condition but at least with less unpleasant surroundings, again: try not to carry too much.

I understand that there is a tweaked version (leobro 4) which should probably be used instead but it's good to get this route reviewed properly.

Nic Howes trialled this route 22.7.2023 and I agree in general with Neil's assessment in his earlier Review of this route. Much of Leobro3 follows the Herefordshire Trail, so it's worth taking a copy of the guide to that trail for additional information to this Review:

https://www.visitherefordshire.co.uk/sites/default/files/2022-07/The%20Herefordshire%20Trail%20_compressed%20%285%29.pdf

I have some concerns about finer details of Leobro3, the most important being that Leobro3 crosses a short section - about 50 metres - of private property at Grantsfield, at a point where the Herefordshire Trail takes a large bight along PROWs to avoid this private property. The short section in question is a private drive into a yard for a construction business and plant sales. Google Street View shows that there is a gate that the owner may close across this drive. The short section of private property links the public road at W3W price.flotation.wool to a stile onto a PROW at W3W visions.escorting.reassured. There is definitely no access to the PROW mentioned above from the nearby farmyard at The Smithy. I have tweaked the .gpx track for Leobro3 and plotted it to be downloaded from Leobro4, which avoids the private property at Grantsfield and follows PROWs throughout.

I carefully considered the five star rating after trialling this route; I wanted to follow Neil's lead and in the end I felt that the strong start in Leominster balanced out the poorer, suburbanised finish into Bromyard. Arable fields with standing crops in summer need specific access adaptations by walkers: crops are often planted right up to the field boundary and in such cases I feel it's best to find and follow tractor tracks through the crop, parallel to the line of the path.

Leominster Walkers are Welcome - and others - should be congratulated on producing an attractive and accessible pedestrian way eastwards out of the town centre, taking in the Priory church, railway bridge (Photo one), River Lugg (one of Neil's photos) and a thoughtfully made path close to the A44 but safely separated from it by a hedge. Leaving the A44 behind, the route follows the Herefordshire Trail (HT) uphill along an ancient route with old steps (Photo two). Emerging into an arable field the issue of standing crops was apparent in July (Photo three); this was a relatively clear path compared to other field edge paths encountered elsewhere on the route.

It's worth looking out for fine old trees on this route, particularly oaks such as that found just after crossing Cheaton Brook (Photo four). The climb out of the valley leads to a narrow strip of woodland that appears to act as a shelter belt for orchards to its north. After the chicken farm at Oakwood the route crosses the valley of Whittey Brook to reach Grantsfield, where an access issue exists, as described in the second paragraph above.

At Upper Bache there are some interesting old buildings, including what appears to be a ventilated building for drying hops; there's also a stone trough and wheel of a traditional cider mill nearby (Photo five). For more on traditional cider making see https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Herefordshire-Cider-Trail/ An ancient track leads from Upper Bache to Bache Camp, an Iron Age hill fort (Photos six and seven). Ignore the gate on the skyline on reaching the northern point of Bache Camp and stay inside the fence, following the ditch along the fort's western flank before descending steeply to the lane.

St Peter's church at Puddleston (Photo eight) dates from 1200 and has two of the County's oldest oak trees - Adam and Eve - standing in a nearby field. Further along the route lies St Leonards, Hatfield, which is one of the County's three oldest churches, a fact that is hinted at in its walls, including eye-catching herringbone masonry.

Further along the HT, when crossing the public road to access the private drive to Velvet Stone opposite, it is worth considering a short detour south (1/2 mile there and back) to view the restored GWR station and track at Fencote (one of Neil's photos): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencote_railway_station

Shortly after Velvet Stone, fine views open up southeast (Photo nine) to Bromyard Downs (on the left of Photo nine) and the Malvern Hills (behind and to the right on Photo nine). There now follows a long, remote section of the HT that eventually descends gently to an inconspicuous footbridge across the upper River Frome before climbing out of the Frome valley onto the next ridge, from which there is a fine view south to the Woolhope hills (Photo ten) before entering Edwyn Wood.

Emerging from Edwyn Wood brought me a feeling of the end of the bucolic and entry to the suburban; despite the dominant sound being lawnmowers, the route's exit between the manicured gardens of Edwyn Ralph remained obscured by untamed vegetation (Photo eleven). As the sound of Edwin Ralph's lawnmowers faded, the ambience became dominated by the overlapping sounds of several performance stages at the Nozstock Festival, taking place over four days in the second half of July (Photo twelve).

Once past the Festival site the route passes a static caravan site and joins the narrow pavement alongside the busy B4214 into Bromyard.

My review of Leoher3 is work in progress and will continue below.

If you you're looking for a peaceful, calm walk through rolling countryside and through quiet hamlets then this is definitely a 5 star route. Plenty of places to eat and drink and either end of the route - but take food and drink as there are no shops or pubs on route.
If you want to forget your worries and transport yourself back in time then this walk is for you. It follows the newly upgraded Herefordshire Trail most of the way so all stiles (and there a lot of them) are in good order.

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