We left the Worcestershire Way a month ago at Knightwick so this is where we pick it up again for the fourth stage, a beautiful walk along the limestone ridges of the Suckley Hills.

The views are superb, whether you're looking west across Herefordshire to Wales, or east and south across Worcestershire to the Cotswolds.

The Way leads through a varied landscape, with woodland, plantation, orchard and several different types of farmland, though it's pasture which predominates.

In places, especially on the west-facing slopes, there are meadows full of wild flowers, including clover, vetch, yellow wort, trefoil, pink centaury, potentilla, knapweed, self-heal and St John's wort.

Such meadows should be good places to see butterflies on warm days, but there are fewer butterflies than ever this year. The cold weather must be partly responsible, but butterflies have been in decline for years now, for all sorts of reasons, including changes in land use and the widespread use of pesticides.

However, you should at least see some interesting birds, including green woodpeckers, which seem to find the mixture of woods, hedges and pasture much to their liking.

Much of the ancient woodland which used to clothe the Suckley Hills has long since been replaced with alien conifers.

In places, however, patches of broadleaved woodland remain, with species considered indicative of the original wildwood, such as small-leaved lime, wild service and even a few large-leaved lime - one of the UK's rarest trees.

If you're interested in learning more about the landscape traversed by the Worcestershire Way you will find the official guidebook very useful - its available in local shops and tourist information centres.

DIRECTIONS

Walk along the road which leads to Alfrick and Lulsley. Take great care because there are a couple of nasty bends and the traffic, though light, travels too fast.

Look out for the abutments of the bridge where the Worcester-Bromyard railway formerly crossed the road: just beyond this point the Worcestershire Way leaves the road on the right. A steady climb begins at once but the top of the ridge is soon gained and the Way heads south, its route never in doubt, through a mixture of woods and sheep pasture.

Eventually you meet a lane at Crews Hill, where you turn right before the Way takes to the trees again at Crews Hill Nature Reserve. After 10 minutes or so, keep alert for a sharp right turn. You could easily miss the waymarker if striding along at a fair pace.

The bad news is that this turning involves a descent to a lane, which is, of course, inevitably followed by a climb to regain height. The Way runs along the edge of an orchard into plantation then climbs to a T-junction, where there is no waymarker. However, you turn right here, and then the waymarking resumes, soon sending you left.

The Way continues through woodland and plantation before emerging into a field to follow the right-hand hedge down to Longley Green. A short stretch of lane-walking now follows: keep alert for the point where the Way leaves the lane on the right, next to a half-timbered barn.

Soon after this, Batchcombe Farm Shop (fruit, juice, ice cream) will be a welcome sight to many walkers. After the shop, a brief uphill trudge through a flowery meadow is followed by more woodland before you emerge on a lane at Birchwood Common. Turn right, then soon left, to see Worcester spread out on the plain below.

The waymarkers guide you through a cottage garden (or round it, if you choose the unofficial detour) and then through a walnut grove - keep fairly close to the top of the slope so as not to miss the point where the Way again enters woodland.

A straightforward walk through woods, orchards and fields leads down to the A4103 by the New Inn, as good a place as any to end this stage of the Way. However, if you do this walk on a Sunday, please note there are no buses.

You could ask somebody to pick you up or you could push on a bit further to Malvern, where you will find plenty of Sunday buses. Route-finding is easy enough, with ample waymarking and the most northerly of the Malvern Hills (End Hill) looming large just ahead. Otherwise, watch this space in a month's time for the fifth stage, from the New Inn to Colwall.

FACTFILE

Start: the Suckley/Alfrick turn at Knightwick; GR732558.

Finish: the New Inn on the A4103 at Crumpton Hill, near Storridge; GR760494.

Length: 6.5 miles/10.5km.

Maps: OS Explorers 190 and 204, OS Landranger 150.

Terrain: hilly, but only a few steep bits; mostly woodland, pasture and orchard.

Stiles: 13.

Buses: 419/420/421 to Knightwick, Monday to Saturday, 420 on Sunday; return on the 417 from the New Inn, Monday to Saturday only; Traveline 0870 608 2608.

Refreshments: the Talbot at Knightwick, New Inn at Storridge, Suckley Post Office Stores at Longley Green (closed Sundays), farm shop at Batchcombe.

DISCLAIMER

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