Walk with the Bus: Dymock to Gorsley -

The meteorological winter ended on February 28^th and March 20^th marks the Vernal Spring Equinox. Either way, the Daffodil season brings an opportunity to get out and walk the paths of Daffodilshire.

The story of the wild daffodil is told elsewhere and we thank all those who seek to encourage the spread of this rare species. The paths may well still be muddy from the pounding they have taken during the wet winter months but it is surprising how quickly they dry up after a few days of sunshine.

This 6-mile linear walk takes in the Daffodil Way from Dymock to Kempley and then you are routed through Queenswood to Gorsley. If you decide to walk this during the Daffodil weekends then you’ll probably want to walk down to Kempley for refreshment or to visit the stalls and the church. At other times, the walk is always pleasurable as the seasons turn. Overall this is an easy walk with no climbs and mainly gates throughout.

1. Start at the green in front of St Mary’s Church, Dymock. Cross the road, turn left and opposite the Beauchamp Arms go right through a gate along a grassy path down the field, part of the Daffodil Way. Go ahead through the gap and a small field to a gate leading into a large field. Turn left to follow the edge of the field to a corner and right to reach a kissing gate. Once through continue onward to cross a footbridge and alongside the line of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire canal which is in water here. You’ll have to duck beneath some fallen trees but it is otherwise clear. This would have been a very busy towpath in the mid-19^th century as Dymock was busy transporting agricultural goods, cider and perry destined for growing urban markets. The path leads to a kissing gate and up to a track.

2. Turn right over the canal bridge and then first left through a gate. Follow the track as it bends right to a small gate by a field gate. Walk ahead along a track where you’ll catch a glimpse of Boyce Court on your right, a Georgian estate house dating mainly from the early 17^th century. As you approach Timber Hall farm look for two small metal gates on the right. After the second gate, turn left to proceed to a third gate. Cross the track then through a kissing gate into a large field. Follow the hedge to your left towards the M50 motorway and then right up the field edge until you reach an underpass, ironically built in 1960 to accommodate the Daffodil Line railway and used for four years only for the weekly freight train before the line was closed.

3. If all is clear at the underpass, go through it, then head slightly right up the pasture which, believe or not, was the site of the short lived Four Oaks railway halt on the Daffodil Line, a station which was opened in 1937 and closed in 1959 enjoying only 22 years of service. Turn right on the road and follow it until you reach a junction signposted to Normans Land where you go right to cross over the ‘Weak Bridge’. If the underpass is flooded, which it is from time to time, there is a permissive route ahead, through a field gate and kissing gate leading on to a road. Keep ahead to the junction by the bridge.

4. Turn right here and in about 100 metres left into Dymock Wood, waymarked as the ‘Daffodil Way’ and the ‘Three Choirs Way’. Walk ahead at the first crossroads onto a lesser track which winds left and right between oak and beech trees, their trunks clothed with vibrant green moss. The path rises gently at first. However, ignore the path off to the right as you descend to a junction where you keep left on the Daffodil Way. Cross a track onto a narrow path to reach a kissing gate leading into a pasture.

5. Head slightly left over a tractor bridge and the path now curves left through a relict orchard with several mature perry pear trees which have survived. Proceed up to a kissing gate and ahead along a curved line of pear trees to pass to the left of a barn. Continue near to the hedge line on your right to pass through a kissing gate beneath a veteran oak tree. Keep ahead alongside the hedge in the next field up to a kissing gate. Once through, continue between two gardens to a green byway. Turn left to reach the road. If you are interested in visiting St Edwards church in Kempley, described as a mini cathedral of the Arts and Crafts movement, go right along the lane into the village.

6. If not, turn left along the lane to enter Dymock Forest at the Queen’s Wood car park where there are information panels. Go right by the barrier to follow the track which curves left as it descends deeper into the wood; ignore lesser cross paths. The wood is mainly deciduous near to the track and bluebells as well as wild daffodils carpet the woodland floor in early Spring. Of note are the oaks and that there is a revival of coppicing in some sections. You might see unusual butterflies such as the White Admiral as well as Speckled Wood as you walk through. While there are piles of decaying wood along the way the chances are you’ll not see a stag beetle, an endangered species known in this habitat.

7. Go right at the junction to continue to descend the hillside. The track then curves left (ignoring tracks off) as it now begins to rise and descend again to a junction. Keep right here to climb and dip once more. It curves left to a junction on the left and a path leading off right, but keep ahead to climb one more time and you’ll notice that the traffic on M50 is much louder. Ignore the next turning on the right despite the waymark. Your way is ahead on a track which descends to bend left. Before the track curves right again go left on a lesser path, not easily seen nor currently waymarked – so be watchful here.

8. The path runs through a tunnel under the M50 and then along the perimeter of the wood, ignoring paths off to the left to exit onto a track by Haywood Farm up to the splendidly named Swagwater Lane, possibly an old English word for a wreath, or a place where loot is stored. The track joins the road and you turn right to walk along to a staggered junction; turn right and next left. Continue ahead, ignoring the lane off to the right, along Ivy House Lane through to the main B4221 road. Turn right for the bus stops at Goff’s School, Gorsley, by the seat for Newent and Ledbury, across the road for Ross.