Exactly a year after his sudden death, 48 friends of Neville Cyril Littleford met at the Crown Inn in Woolhope, to return to the place of his last walk and to dedicate a seat in his memory.

The four-mile walk, organised and led by the retiring chair of Ross Ramblers, Ian Foster, started at 10am and field paths were followed to Sollers Hope.

Progress was inevitably very slow as the huge group negotiated many stiles, but this gave more time for reminiscences about Neville and his huge generous personality. On his last walk he, at the age of 84, led the Tuesday group of Ross Ramblers. Sadly they had just left Sollers Hope Church when he died, and permission has been given by its Parochial Church Council for his memorial seat to be sited here, with a splendid view of the church and the surrounding countryside.

The walkers gathered round the seat as the vicar, the Rev Crispin Pemberton led the short ceremony of dedication sprinkling the seat with blessed water. He spoke of Neville’s many years’ service to Ross Ramblers and his passionate enthusiasm for the countryside, and background history of the walks he led.

A friend of Neville, Allan Ricketts passed on apologies from Neville’s widow, Thelma, who was unable to be with them, but she intends to visit and see the seat in the spring. Allan showed the gathering Neville’s collection of 13 fabric long distance walk badges which he has inherited, and which have been sown on an old haversack by Yvonne Watkins. Pride of place goes to the five National Trails which Neville completed: the Cotswold Way (102 miles), the Offas Dyke Path (107 miles), the Pembrokeshire Coast (186 miles), Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path (93 miles) and, the most difficult of all, the South West Coast Path (631 miles).

After the ceremony much appreciated cake, home-made biscuits, tea and coffee were served in the church by a parish group. The walkers then returned the two miles to the Crown at Woolhope where a special lunch menu had been provided.