Hills walks around Ledbury

The walk from the town led through the woods above the church. At the top of the track there was a ruined stable dating from the days of stage coaches, which would have been used for the trace horses needed to make the climb up the hill.

Another good walk was on the Malverns, where the track climbed to give views back to the ancient hill-fort as well as across into Wales.

Ledbury

Having spent a week near Ledbury we walked into town and also some of the local footpaths on the hills.

Ledbury itself is an interesting place with many lovely old buildings, including the Market Hall and the old houses on the cobbled street leading to the church.

The Market Hall (top-left).
Cobbled street (top-right and left)
The building on the right was the last of the buildings in the old 'shambles' and was moved to its current location, on the cobbled street, to preserve it.

Dartmoor Walk

On a beautiful day we walked a circular route from Ilsington. Starting from the Carpenter's Arms the route leads downhill at first, then steeply uphill to give good views back to the village. A further downhill section leads through the woods and across a stream before crossing the road and going uphill again to give a view across to Bovey Tracey and then Haytor. A further downhill section re-crosses the road before the final climb back up through the woods and into Ilsington past the village shop. Then we enjoyed lunch in the Carpenter's Arms.

The directions for the route are very clear and more can be found at Visit Dartmoor, and we also carried our OS map to check our route as we walked.

The track uphill and the view back to Ilsington

A muddy section

Looking back at the stile and stepping stones

Hilltop views:-
towards Bovey Tracey (L)
and Haytor (R)

Ancient signpost

Final uphill track through the woods

Cerne Abbas

Walking in the UK this year had been mainly over old ground in preparation for walking in Spain. However we have recently been to Cerne Abbas and walked the tracks above and around the Giant. From the tracks it is impossible to see the figure cut into the hillside, but there is a good view from across the valley.

Our time in Spain is recorded at Camino 2015 and covers the route from Ribadeo westwards to San Andrés de Teixido and then on the Camino Inglés (for the second time) from Ferrol to Santiago de Compostela. Next year we are thinking of walks in Asturias and maybe near Lugo (Galicia) but taking a car to travel between major points for accomodation. Meanwhile we will continue to record interesting walks here as well as plans for places to walk in Spain.