Five of the best walks in Herefordshire

The Hergest Ridge walk takes you up into the hills where you can stride for miles with only the wild ponies for company. As the name suggests, there’s a big climb early on, but it’s reasonably steady rather than a vertical scramble and then it’s all downhill from the top. Yes, we know that can be harder on the knees than going up, but overall, we’ll take it. Being right on the border, the route takes in a small section of the Offa’s Dyke path before dropping you back down into Kington after a few hours of scenic strolling, ready to hit the local pub.

The beauty of this trail is the ease of navigation. Skirrid, or Ysgyryd Fawr, is the big pointy thing on the other side of the woods and all you’re going to do is wander through the trees and drag yourself up it. It’s as simple as that but it’s still one of favourite Herefordshire walks for the views from the top, where the peak overlooks a stunning sweep of valley. Once you’re done admiring the view, you can turn around and head back exactly the way you came or loop past St Michael’s Chapel for a change of scenery.

This is probably the most famous walk in Herefordshire, but it deserves a place in any list for the constant supply of dramatic views. Again, the early climb can take the wind out of you, but being up on the ridge for the rest of the walk means you’ll get it back, often at high speed too. Some of the ascent and descent sections present some tricky footing, so it’s best to stop and watch the clouds scudding between the hilltops before moving on. It’s a fairly remote trail too, so you won’t be stomping the last few yards to the pub and should plan snacks or a route to your recovery pint accordingly.

It would be odd to call the Malvern Hills Herefordshire’s secret stash of walks, but it is often overlooked by people pushing on to the Brecon Beacons or the Wye Valley. When you stop and explore a little, you find some wonderful trails like this circular in the south, which takes in the Herefordshire Beacon and British Camp Reservoir. It’s an easy walk with minimal climbing and good footing for almost every step, the sort of thing you could do on the morning you have to head home.

This is a lovely little walk if you’re short on time, although it can be tricky to navigate, so make sure you know where you’re going, or you might eat into more of the day than you’d planned. The nearest parking is a tiny lane that you might miss the first couple of times you look for it and from there you pass through open land with no signage. What you’re looking for is an old radio building on a hilltop, from which you’ll get incredible views of the surrounding countryside before following the trail of breadcrumbs you left back to the car, if the wild ponies haven’t cleared them up for you.