Cefn Hill and Vagar Hill Walk: Incredible Herefordshire Scenery

A six-mile circular walk through the Herefordshire hills, taking in Cefn Hill, Vagar Hill, Bonny Lands and Mynydd Brith, with glorious views across the Black Mountains and Hatterrall Ridge.

Sheep on Vagar Hill, Herefordshire 

After a flat tyre ruined my plans the previous day, I decided to have another go at Plan A. This time I actually made it to some breathtakingly scenic, but little known hills near the Welsh border in Herefordshire. 

I drove up towards Cefn Hill in the morning, and getting there was an adventure in itself. The roads around Arthur's Stone and from Dorstone up the hill were pretty bad. It started with insanely steep, winding lanes that then became potholed tracks that looked like they had been sabotaged by someone with a personal grudge against suspension systems.

There were very few passing places as well, so you really need to enjoy driving up hills if you want to get up there. I don't recommend it for nervous drivers or people in campervans.

I parked near the beautiful woodland to the north of Cefn Hill and set off on the walk. It was a relatively easy plod up to the top of Cefn Hill, which stands at 486 metres, and the views were incredible. Hay Bluff and Hatterrall Ridge looked absolutely stunning.

It was one of those views where you walk for about 30 seconds before stopping again to look at it. Then you walk another 30 seconds and stop again. Eventually you have to accept that you're not actually getting anywhere and force yourself to carry on.

Walking up through the woodland to Cefn Hill

Hay Bluff from Cefn Hill

Hatterrall Ridge from Cefn Hill

Cefn Hill is on a large area of common land and I headed south before following footpaths down through fields into the valley. From there I made my way towards another common and another hill.

Vagar Hill.

At 429 metres, it's not the biggest hill I've ever walked up, but it still involved a fair bit of climbing. At one point I spotted a fox running between some hay bales, which was a nice bonus. It was moving pretty quickly and I didn't get a decent photo, but I did get to watch it disappear across the fields.

I then followed some relatively steep country lanes up towards Vagar Hill Common.

A fox on Cefn Hill

Road signs in rural Herefordshire 

A steep country lane approaching Vagar Hill Common

I got as close as I could to the summit, but the actual high point was covered in thick fern. I was wearing shorts and there are apparently quite a lot of ticks about, so I decided that wading through a waist-high jungle of vegetation wasn't worth it.

There are some things I'm prepared to do to reach the very top of a hill. Getting Lyme disease isn't one of them. I also didn't really want on unnecessarily stomp my way through nature for no real reason. I was pretty much at the top of the hill anyway. 

Entering Vagar Hill Common, Herefordshire

Vagar Hill, Herefordshire 

Hatterrall Ridge and Skirrid from Vagar Hill

I then continued north towards a telecommunications tower I could see roughly a mile away. This was where the third summit of the day was located. Bonny Lands, at 432 metres.

There was a trig point there and I'd planned to have a break and eat some snacks next to it. Unfortunately, it was pretty exposed and extremely windy, so I decided to move on.

Approaching Bonny Lands / Bonnylands, Herefordshire

The Bonnylands communication tower, Herefordshire

Trig bagging in Herefordshire 

I left Vagar Hill Common and followed long country lanes towards the fourth and final summit of the day, Mynydd Brith.

At 452 metres, it was actually higher than both Vagar Hill and Bonny Lands, although there wasn't a huge amount to it. The lane basically goes over the high point, which is convenient if you're trying to reach the summit but perhaps slightly disappointing if you're expecting a dramatic mountain top experience.

Still, a summit is a summit.

The view east from Bonny Lands

Approaching Mynydd Brith

The lane back to my car, Mynydd Brith, Herefordshire 

I'd been looking at the highest points in Herefordshire and the list on PeakVisor seemed to be the most accurate one I could find. I'd already walked all of the top seven and number 12, so today's four peaks filled in the gap and meant that I'd now been to the top 12 highest points in Herefordshire. I may have to look for a different list though.

I'm pretty sure Bonny Lands and Mynydd Brith are actually just parts of Vagar Hill and Cefn Hill, so I'm not entirely convinced I've genuinely visited four separate hills. It feels a bit like cheating. They are on the list, but I now question its validity. 

I plodded along the lane and it started raining, which was actually quite pleasant. 

It felt like we'd had months of heatwaves and no rain, so I wasn't going to complain. The grass on the commons had gone brown and was clearly in desperate need of a drink. I eventually made it back to the car and immediately started stuffing my face with trail mix.

I had been planning to carry on and walk to nearby Cusop Hill, which was number 17 on a list I'd lost faith in. By this point it was properly raining and windy. I decided to save that for another day. I'd probably regret that, when I'm next having to tackle those country lanes again, but at the time I was ready to move on. 

I drove home via a different route through Michaelchurch and Hereford. The roads were much better. I still had the occasional moment where I had to reverse about 50 metres to let another car through on a narrow country lane, but at least I wasn't having to listen to my own car being slowly destroyed by potholes.

So, I completed the walk I'd planned to do the day before.

In the end, the flat tyre had been a blessing in disguise. If it hadn't happened, I wouldn't have stopped in Mordiford and discovered the incredible scenery where the River Lugg meets the River Wye.

The views in Mordiford. More details here

All of my immediate family were away on various holidays, including my wife and daughter, so I was at home with dog-sitting duties. I sort of turned it into a staycation, even if I hate that patronising word.

I've spent the weekend seeing some of Herefordshire's finest scenery, walking through beautiful countryside and visiting some of the highest points in the county.

I've had worse weekends. 

If you'd like to brave the roads to Cefn Hill, here is a link to a GPX File of the route I took. On clear, sunny day, you'll struggle to find better scenery in Herefordshire.