Ross Ramblers

Stories of the Golden Valley

The walk on Tuesday morning 23^rd February was a four mile figure-of-eight starting from Fernbank Road circling through Merrivale and Penyard Woods. After a pause at Lawns Farm (during which the Chairman went shopping for manure) the group of 15 descended to the Town and Country Trail via the Tank Field. The tree covered upward path at Merrivale Wood had been exceptionally muddy but the descent at the Tank Field was still covered with snow.

 Having enjoyed the view across Ross from the top of the field the walkers were confronted by an unsightly mass of debris at the bottom. This had been shamefully abandoned by some of the many who have enjoyed “sledging” on the field this winter: broken plastic rubbish of every description together with airbeds and even a heavy rubber inflatable boat. The walk was led by Thelma and Sam whose prior invitation to everyone to a “pot luck” lunch at their home afterwards was taken up with enthusiasm and thoroughly enjoyed!

The 7 mile Saturday walk was led by Annie from Peterchurch in the Golden Valley. Annie related a tale that the origin of the name Golden may have been a Norman misunderstanding about the Welsh dwr (water) which sounded like the French d’or (of gold). At any rate there was plenty of evidence of the dwr with much of sticky soil accumulating on walking boots! Leaving Peterchurch the walkers passed St Peters Well - which still provides some of the water used in the village - and climbed gradually up about 500ft through fields and woods to Blakemere Hill. The initially poor visibility improved with some spells of sunshine so that from here on the 16 walkers enjoyed beautiful views of Herefordshire countryside with a backdrop of the Cats Back and Hay Bluff to the west, and hills as far as May Hill 25 miles to the south east.

Lunch was taken sitting on a ring of stones just below the gleaming white Poston House, a Palladian mansion designed in the 1760s by George III’s favourite architect, Sir William Chambers and built to enjoy the view. The house was recently restored and occupied by the Bulmer family but is now a luxury holiday accommodation complex. A couple of steep hills down and up again brought the walkers to the lane to Vowchurch and Turnastone. The names of these two places are said to arise from a sister’s “vow” that her initiative in building a church would be completed before “stone was turned” on her sister’s project nearby! The high fibreglass spire of the Norman church at Peterchurch beckoned the walkers as they plodded among the sheep and lambs on the valley floor to end a fine day out.