WITH flowers in the woods and lambs in the fields, spring is definitely in the air.

Primroses and dog's mercury have already been in bloom for some time, and will continue for many weeks yet. Primroses brighten the greyest of days, but you may have to look closely to appreciate the tiny green flowers of dog's mercury.

By contrast, you could hardly miss the beautiful white blooms of the snowdrop, of which there are massive drifts at several points on this walk, especially around Hope End. But go to see them soon, as they may not last very much longer. As they fade, however, the wild daffodils will take over - on Oyster Hill the first of these are already in flower.

Hope End was the childhood home of the poet Elizabeth Barrett, before she moved with her family to London. She was 40 before she escaped her tyrannical father by marrying fellow poet Robert Browning in 1846. The

couple settled in Florence where they became the centre of a brilliant literary circle, enjoying 15 years of happiness before Elizabeth's early death in 1861. Hollywood's version of their story is told in 1934 tear-jerker The Barretts of Wimpole Street.

Leaving the station, turn right beside the road, pass under the railway bridge and join a footpath. Walk uphill through an orchard and a field towards Frith Wood. Turn right at the top and join a track. Turn right again, looking for another track on the left, where a Forestry Commission sign proclaims 'Walkers are invited to use this track to gain entry to Frith Wood'.

The track climbs steeply at first, but soon becomes easier. When it meets another track, turn right on an unsigned, narrow but well-trodden path which climbs steeply uphill to meet another path.

Turn left, staying on this path until it starts to descend. At that point, take a narrow path which forks right, climbing gently at first, then increasingly steeply, to meet another path. Turn left.

Keep straight on at two faint cross-paths, eventually meeting a wide, muddy path, where you turn left. This is a public footpath (LR24), with frequent waymarks indicating the route. Keep straight on, ignoring all branching paths and eventually bypassing a redundant stile to join path CW57.

Proceed along a ridge until Frith Wood comes to an end. Descend diagonally left through a field to meet a lane and turn left. After 300m, take a path on the right, at a kink in the lane. The path leads through woods and fields towards the Malvern Hills, eventually meeting a road junction at Lower Lodge.

Go straight on along the Colwall road. Keep left at a junction by a railway bridge, following signs for Coddington and Mathon. After a further 600m, take a footpath on the right, just before a cottage on the left. Walk through a wood, then straight on across a field to a junction. Cross a stile and turn left, then cross another stile and follow the left edge of the next field to the first corner.

Leave the field edge here, striking out across the field to pass a row of trees. Proceed to a stile at the far side then continue across another field, towards a group of tall pines, beyond which there is access to a lane.

Turn right to Colwall Church and walk through the churchyard to a car park. Join a footpath on the left, which takes a well-trodden course across a field towards Oyster Hill. Continue to the far side of the field then turn right through a gate and proceed to a substantial footbridge.

Having crossed the bridge, turn right for a few paces to a plank footbridge and a stile. Cross to another field and turn left. Cross three stiles in the corner and walk along the edge of an orchard to a road junction.

Cross the Colwall/Malvern road and walk a few paces along the Coddington/Bosbury road to find a footpath on the left. Walk to the top left corner of a field and cross a stile, after which the path is easily followed as it ascends Oyster Hill, before descending briefly beside an iron fence to a waymarked junction. Turn left here, climbing uphill again.

Pass the trig pillar on top of the hill and continue southwards on a clear path which leads past Hope End to meet a road. Turn right into Wellington Heath. Keep left at a junction, signed Bosbury and Ledbury.

Take the first footpath on the left, which leads to a junction. Turn left and follow the clearly waymarked route across fields to Frith Wood. Turn right along the bottom edge of the wood. Briefly join a surfaced track near a house but leave it again as you approach a former oasthouse.

The path continues beside Frith Wood, mainly along the edge of orchards but also through a garden (you can avoid this if you prefer - look for a branch path into the wood) to reach the top of the path which descends to the station. Turn right, retracing your steps to the start.

FACTFILE

Start: Ledbury Station, grid ref SO 709385.

Length: 8 miles/13km.

Maps: OS Explorer 190, OS Landrangers 149/150.

Terrain: Woods, fields and orchards, with some steep slopes.

Footpaths: Mostly excellent.

Stiles: 38.

Parking: The station car park is for rail users only so find a space nearby or use the town centre car park.

Public transport: Central and Great Western operate frequent daily trains to Ledbury. Alternatively, bus 417 operates Monday-Saturday, while on Sundays it's the 44 and 476, changing at Great Malvern; details from Rail Enquiries 08457 484950, Herefordshire Council 01432 260211 or www.herefordbus.info

Refreshments: Ledbury.

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.