Exploring Mordiford: Where the River Lugg Meets the River Wye

After a flat tyre wrecked my plans for some Herefordshire hill bagging, I ended up discovering one of the most beautiful spots I've seen in the county

I was supposed to be heading into the hills.

I'd planned to drive from home in Ledbury to Cefn Hill near Hay-on-Wye. I'd spend the day walking around some of the more remote bits of Herefordshire. I was looking forward to it and had the day planned out reasonably well.

Then I got a flat tyre.

I ended up spending two hours waiting for Kwik Fit in Hereford to sort it out. Two hours. I'm not sure what they were doing for most of that time, but I assume at least some of it involved looking at the tyre and saying things like "yeah, that's definitely flat".

By the time I was back on the road, there was no longer enough time to do the walk I'd planned. I could have just driven straight home, but that seemed a bit daft after having already wasted so much time sitting around waiting for a tyre to be fixed.

I decided to make something up as I went along instead.

I stopped in Mordiford and parked in a layby on the Hereford side of the bridge. The confluence of the River Lugg, where it meets the River Wye is only a short walk from there, so I thought I'd go and have a look.

I'd heard it was a nice spot. I was just looking for somewhere to have a wander and salvage something from a day that had started with a puncture and two hours of my life disappearing waiting on a bench in Hereford. 

It isn't just a nice spot though. It's quite possibly the best scenery I've seen in Herefordshire. I don't know whether it was because I'd had a crap start to the day or because there was nobody else around, but it felt like I'd stumbled across somewhere special.

The confluence of the River Lugg, Mordiford

The rivers, the trees and the countryside around it were all incredible and I had the whole place to myself. I stood around there for a while, taking it all in, before heading back through Mordiford.

On the way I passed a couple of sculptures from the village's Dragon Trail, including Maud and the Dragon. The trail celebrates the local legend of the Mordiford Dragon, although thankfully the dragons I encountered were sleeping. 

The River Lugg, Mordiford

Maude and the Dragon

Another sculpture on the Mordiford Dragon Trail

I'd noticed the hills of West Wood from the rivers and had decided that I might as well go and have a look up there as well.

This was how Plan B had now evolved. Plan A had been a well planned route over five of the highest hills on the county. Plan B had become "find a river". Plan C was now "walk up that hill over there and see what it's like".

I walked through Mordiford and into West Wood, where I eventually found a path heading upwards. It was pretty steep and overgrown in places, but I followed it anyway.

West Wood, Mordiford 

I'll go up there I guess

I was no longer trying to stick to a particular route or get anywhere at a particular time. I could just wander about and see what happened. This is a very rewarding way to walk, although it does occasionally involve standing at a junction in the woods thinking, "I have absolutely no idea where I am".

Eventually I reached the high point of the wood and then followed the ridgeline towards a second summit.

I'd hoped that getting up there would give me some decent views back towards the confluence of the Lugg and the Wye. I'd just been standing down there looking up at the hills, so it seemed only fair that I should be able to stand on the hills and look back down at where I'd been.

The trees had other ideas and the views were mostly blocked. That's fine though because I really like trees.

I also like views, obviously, but you can't have everything. The trees had got there first and weren't about to move just because I'd walked up a hill expecting them to provide me with a nice panorama.

The highest point of West Wood

The view

Looks like a path to me

The paths were pretty rough in places and there were some steep sections where I was clambering around through the overgrown woodland rather than walking along anything that could reasonably be described as a proper path. I saw a herd of deer hopping through the woodland. No other people. Pure bliss.

I was just wandering around in peace. Just the sounds of nature and no one asking me if I knew where I was going. Which was just as well, because I didn't have a clue. It wasn't the walk I'd planned, but it was a pretty good one.

Eventually I made my way back towards Mordiford and stopped at the Moon for a swift shandy before heading home.

Heading back to Mordiford 

The Mordiford Dragon Trail waymarker

I'd started the day intending to walk over Cefn Hill. Instead, I got a flat tyre, spent two hours waiting for Kwik Fit, went to Mordiford, found what might be the most beautiful bit of scenery I've seen in Herefordshire, climbed a steep and path through beautiful woodland and walked along a ridgeline.

Then I had a shandy and went home.

It hadn't gone according to plan, but it worked out alright in the end.

Actually, it worked out pretty well.