TO the west of the River Severn, between Bewdley and Areley Kings, the relatively high land of north-west Worcestershire falls steeply to the river valley, its slopes clothed by the mixture of woodland and plantation that constitutes the Forestry Commission's Ribbesford Woods.

The many paths within the woods provide opportunities for lots of enjoyable walks, such as the one described here.

Ribbesford House and its neighbours, Home Farm and St Leonard's Church, nestle at the bottom of a slope at the north-east corner of the woods. If there was ever a village at Ribbesford, it has long since disappeared, but there was certainly a parish of Ribbesford, with some sort of settlement, long before Bewdley existed. In Saxon times the manor of Ribbesford was held by Worcester Priory, and extended far enough northwards to include the land on which Bewdley was later developed by the Norman lord, Ralph de Mortimer.

St Leonard's Church has a Norman tympanum (the semi-circular stone above the door) with an intriguing carving that nobody can quite explain. It depicts an archer attempting to kill something - but what? Suggestions have included a monster, a seal and a giant salmon. To add to the confusion, there's another unidentifiable creature in the carving, described by some as a greyhound and by others as a fawn. Some consider the carving to be symbolic, representing the Church protecting the Christian soul against evil.

The church contains a window of 1875 designed by the pre-Raphaelite artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones. It was commissioned in memory of Hannah MacDonald, his own mother-in-law and also the grandmother of both Stanley Baldwin and Rudyard Kipling.

Baldwin was born in Bewdley in 1867, in a house at the junction of High Street and Lax Lane. Three times prime minister, he resigned in 1937 following the abdication of Edward VIII. Created Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, he retired to Astley Hall, some way downstream from Bewdley.

Kipling, born in India in 1865, was named after the Staffordshire lake where his parents got engaged. He is perhaps best known as the author of Jungle Book, though he was quite prolific and in 1907 he became the first English writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was married at Ribbesford Church in 1892.

The 19th Century faade of Ribbesford House is said to conceal a building dating from Tudor times. During the Second World War, the house was used as a training centre by the Free French forces. Their leader, and future president of France, General de Gaulle, was a frequent visitor.

PLEASE NOTE This walk has been carefully checked and the directions are believed to be accurate at the time of publication. No responsibility is accepted by either the author or publisher for errors or omissions, or for any loss, accident or injury, however caused.

DIRECTIONS

1 Walk up Load Street, keep left of the church and turn left on High Street. Turn right by number 42, joining the Worcestershire Way. Ignore all branching paths until you have passed a gate with a notice reading 'Snuffmill Pools car park, access for fishermen only'. Take the next path on the right, just a few paces further on, leaving the Worcestershire Way. The well-trodden path leads uphill to a junction at a stile. Turn left to meet a lane, then turn right.

2 Join the driveway to Park Farm, then go straight on along a footpath when you reach the farm. Take the left-hand path when you come to a junction. The path climbs gently to another junction. Turn left into woodland and follow the path through the trees then into a field. Turn left along the edge, eventually passing through another small patch of woodland to meet a lane. Turn right and walk along the lane as far as Glebe Cottage, then enter Ribbesford Woods where you see a Forestry Commission sign.

3 Walk straight through the woods, ignoring all turnings. After about 500m you'll come to a five-ways junction - you might want to take note of this as you'll be using the two tracks on the left later. For now, however, keep straight on. After another 500m you'll see the top of Stagborough Hill rising beyond the end of the woods, and just after this you'll come to a cross-track. Turn left here, following the wide track and ignoring any branching paths. This will take you back to the five-ways junction.

4 Turn first right and again ignore all branching paths. Eventually, you'll arrive at a junction at the bottom edge of the woods. One path goes to the road - take this if you would like to return to Bewdley along the riverbank. Otherwise, take the path which stays within the woods. A little further on there is a junction where the right of way turns sharply left uphill.

This turning is easily missed and you may find yourself staying on the main path, which runs fairly close to the edge of the woods before eventually bearing left to St Leonard's Church. However, the last part of this path, though well-used, is not on Forestry Commission land, so it's better to turn back to find the correct path if you realise you've missed it. It climbs back up to the lane where it meets the Worcestershire Way. Turn right, following the Way down through the woods to St Leonard's Church and then left to Bewdley.

FACTFILE

Start: Bewdley, grid ref SO786753.

Length: 7 miles/11km.

Maps: OS Explorer 218, OS Landranger 138.

Terrain: Woodland and pasture; mildly hilly in places.

Footpaths: Excellent.

Stiles: 8.

Parking: Bewdley.

Public transport: The 300 goes direct from Worcester to Bewdley on Sundays; on weekdays change at Kidderminster or Stourport; Traveline 0870 608 2608 or www.traveline.org.uk

Refreshments: Bewdley.

Although the Forestry Commission owns Ribbesford Woods, the shooting rights belong to a local landowner who allows a gun club to shoot there, so please heed the notice which warns against wandering off the paths.