LAST September Ross Walkers in conjunction with the Wye Valley National Landscape completed a three-year programme to replace 132 stiles with gates having previously replaced a further 70 stiles.

The result is there is now over 50 miles of stile free walks in the Ross-on-Wye area including the Wye Valley Walk and the Herefordshire Trail.

Many stile-free walks are now published on the website walkinginross.co.uk.

Today, the Ross Gazette is featuring a walk that is circular and mostly flat, but essentially a stile-free walk, crossing the River Wye at Wilton using footpaths and lanes to Bridstow Church.

It is suggested that people should start at Wilton Road and use the nearby parking facilities.

The walk is a leisurely four miles, so allow two hours to complete it.

From the car park cross the road and turn left to cross Wilton Bridge. Just after the bridge, take the signed public footpath on the right onto the riverbank.

Continue for a few yards to go over a footbridge to the right. Go through a kissing gate and turn sharp left keeping the ruined castle walls on the left to reach another footbridge.

Cross the footbridge and continue uphill parallel with the castle walls to meet a metal kissing gate on the left.

After the gate keep the hedge on the left until meeting the entrance gates for the Castle. Cross over the Castle drive, through a metal kissing gate into the grounds of The Bridge House. Keeping the retaining wall for the houses on the right, walk towards Bridge House and through the car park to Wilton Road.

Turn right and head to Wilton Roundabout and cross the A40 via the Toucan Crossing turn right and after a few yards enter Benhall Lane on the left. Proceed along the concrete drive to the farm and through the farmyard to the beyond.

Follow the footpath uphill along the right-hand side of the dividing fence between two fields.

The footpath leaves the line of the fence and continues uphill across the field to a metal pedestrian gate at the top of the hill. Good views of all the hills surrounding Ross. Continue down the hill across a second field through a metal kissing gate and continue straight to a large metal field gate onto the road. Turn right onto the road and after 200 yards reach a T-junction.

Turn left at the junction to follow the road, passing several houses on the right and continuing downhill and then up and passing small housing. At the bottom of the hill the lane turns sharp right to meet the Hoarwithy Road at Pool Mill.

Turn left onto the Hoarwithy Road, go over Pool Mill Bridge and just after the bus stop turn left through a metal kissing gate. Continue along this footpath to Bridstow Church and cross the road into the churchyard.

Pass through Bridstow churchyard to a wooden kissing gate and into a field and continue through a pedestrian gate to a metal gate giving access to the Benhall Farm drive. Turn right and retrace your steps along Benhall Lane and over the Toucan Crossing to Ross-on-Wye.