 Croft Ambrey
April 2004
A pleasant stroll in the north Herefordshire
border
marches
Click the thumbnail to view
the full sized images, which measure 640 pixels on the longest side, and average 50k
- 100k in size. Please read my copyright
notes if you want to use them in any way
The Riverside Inn at Aymestry lies in an idyllic setting
beside the River Lugg, between Leominster and Leintwardine. The previous
evening's excellent meal there had been followed (after a decent interval) by a fine breakfast - a leg
stretch now was essential. So, with boots on and cameras at the ready, we
headed for the ancient hill fort of Croft Ambrey, high on the wooded ridge
above Croft Castle. After seemingly endless poor weather during the
spring, the last Saturday in April was fine, warm and sunny - perfect!
The route is reasonably straightforward - across the
meadows from the inn to the scarp slope of the ridge, which is gained via
a pleasant path through the woods. The path then follows the main ridge
north-eastwards before reaching the hill fort, with its prominent
earthworks and fine views towards the north-west.
 From
the fort, there are two routes to Croft Castle - the direct route,
and the slightly less direct one down through the Fishpool Valley,
with its line of pools (oddly enough), and interesting buildings.
We took the latter - again, a most enjoyable stretch through the
rapidly-emerging spring greenery. The castle, open to the public
through the National Trust, has a tea-room which provided a most
welcome break, and just the right time-interval from breakfast... |
|
The castle is about two-thirds of the way around this walk
(a little over 6 miles in total) - the route back to Aymestry is fairly
direct, but nevertheless enjoyable. Passing first through the triple
avenue of ancient twisted chestnuts, it then traverses open woodlands with
a multi-coloured display of wild flowers - bluebells, "wooden enemies",
celendines and primroses, before picking up our outward path for the last
half-mile or so. A very enjoyable gentle amble - just the thing to walk
off the calories!
Books and Maps:-
The walk is wholly contained on all three maps -
there's quite a big overlap between sheets 137 and 148...
|
|
; "Croft Ambrey - the earthworks")
; "Aymestry - the bridge over the Lugg")
; "Bluebell woods on the scarp")
; "Looking back to Aymestry")
; "View to the north-west")
; "Fishpool Valley (above the pools!)")
; "Ice house in the valley")
; "Fishpool reflections")
; "Water mill")
; "The avenue of ancient chestnuts")
; "More old chestnuts - well past their sell-by date")
; "White bluebell in the woods")
; "Yellow, white and blue")