KNIGHTWICK, with its parking area, regular bus services and popular pub, is a convenient starting point for dozens of lovely walks in the hills above the Teme valley.

This particular walk heads south of the Teme to Lulsley and Alfrick then returns to Knightwick by way of Crews Hill and Round Hill, which form part of the Suckley Hills system, characterised by long north-south ridges.

Crews Hill has some surviving patches of ancient woodland, including Crews Hill Wood, which was bequeathed to Worcestershire Wildlife Trust in 1997.

The dominant trees here are oak, lime and ash, a particularly attractive combination. Other species present include beech, wild service, hornbeam and yew.

The walk also has plenty of architectural interest, including two superb timber-framed houses at Lulsley, a pretty 12th Century church at Alfrick and a disused viaduct which formerly carried the Worcester to Bromyard railway across Broad Dingle.

DIRECTIONS

Take the lane signed to Alfrick and Lulsley. After 500m, join a footpath on the left. The path crosses a meadow then runs through hazel coppice between the River Teme and Osebury Rock. Leaving the coppice and entering a field, the path moves away from the river to run initially below a slope and then close to the field boundary.

Cross a stile at the far end of the field and bear left towards a former farm, now converted into houses. Go through a waymarked gate and join a gravelled drive at The Hopkiln. Turn right, soon passing the entrance to Lulsley Court. After passing Colles Place you'll come to a road junction: keep straight on here.

After 200m, take a footpath at a lychgate (formerly belonging to St Giles' Church, which is now St Giles House). Walk through the graveyard then enter a field. Descend to the bottom right corner, cross a stile and follow a brook to the right until you can cross it at a bridge.

Walk uphill on a vehicle track but leave this when it turns sharp right. Go diagonally right instead, crossing a field to meet a lane (Hill Road) near an ivy-covered tree. Turn right along the lane.

Soon after you've passed a farm you will see a footpath sign on the left, at a hopelessly overgrown stile. Use the nearby gate and go diagonally across a field, stepping over a low fence near another overgrown stile.

Turn right along the edge of the next field, beside the course of the former Worcester-Bromyard railway. After 300m a waymarker sends you diagonally across the field. Tyre tracks show the way at first, soon leading to a green path across cultivated land.

Turn right at the far side, descending steeply beside a fence to a fingerpost at the bottom corner of the field. Turn right on another footpath which soon becomes a tree-lined green lane. It ends at a viaduct where you enter a field and turn left to join a cottage driveway.

Ignore branching paths, soon joining a lane (Green Street) at a cattle grid. Follow it to a junction with Folly Road, where you turn right and then immediately left on a bridleway.

Walk along the left-hand edges of two fields then proceed into a third field, with a pool just ahead. Leave the bridleway, turning right on an unsigned footpath. Follow the hedge to the corner then go into an orchard. Keep straight on along its edge and straight on again in the ensuing field. Turn left in the corner, just after passing a farm, and proceed to a gate.

Join a road and turn right into Alfrick. Turn left by the village shop and cross to the churchyard. Go to the far corner, behind the church, and through a small gate. Follow an unsigned but well-trodden path diagonally right across a field and then through a gate hidden in a narrow hedge-gap.

Turn right along a lane, then immediately left. Just after a traffic sign (30) cross to a footpath on the left. Go straight across a field to the corner of an area of trees and bracken. Keep to the left of this and go diagonally uphill towards a wooden fence. An electric wire is attached to this - look for a band of yellow sticky tape indicating where you can cross safely, at an unobtrusive stile.

Proceed to another stile and turn right along a lane. Keep straight on at two junctions, descending into a valley. Take a path on the left at Dove

Barn and walk along a field edge, through a gate on the right and across a track into another field. Follow the right-hand edge uphill to enter Crews Hill Wood. Continue to the top of Crews Hill and turn first right on a permissive path (NB: this is not a right of way - in the unlikely event of it being closed, turn second right instead, on the Worcestershire Way).

Follow the path through the wood, first along the ridge top, then through a cutting, to the road. Cross to a bridleway opposite - this is the Worcestershire Way and all you have to do now is follow the frequent blue arrows to the Alfrick road and then turn left to Knightwick.

FACTFILE

Start: The Suckley/Alfrick/Lulsley turn at Knightwick, just west of Knightsford Bridge on the A44; grid ref SO731558.

Length: 61/2 miles/10.5km.

Maps: OS Explorer 204, OS Landranger 150.

Terrain: Farmland and woodland, with a couple of gentle slopes and some boggy patches.

Footpaths: Many are neglected but any obstacles are easily bypassed. Waymarking is mostly poor.

Stiles: 7.

Parking: Behind the bus shelter on the old road opposite the turning.

Buses: Worcester-Hereford service 420, daily. Call 01432 260211 or consult www.herefordbus.info

Refreshments: The Talbot at Knightwick, village shop at Alfrick.

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.