Wyche Way

Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire

The Wyche Way is a new (2015) long distance path that links two national trails, Offa's Dyke Path and the Cotswold Way, opened by Kate Ashbrook in September 2015. The 80-mile trail commences from Kington in Herefordshire (close to the Welsh border) and crosses superb countryside, including the spectacular Malvern Hills, to meet the Cotswold Way at Broadway Tower.

The trail is the brainchild of Guy Vowles, a long distance walker and instigator of the Palladian Way and Ross Round. The name is best known from an old 'Saltway' crossing of the Malvern Hills known as The Wyche Cutting, used by packhorse transport in the middle ages for salt from Droitwich to South Wales, but there is also the connotation of Which Way (to go) and there is also an area in the original settlement of Kington close to the church known as the Wych with buildings bearing the name. Vowles first heard of the name from Fred Wood, a fellow member of Cheltenham Rambling Club, who had walked much of the same route in a number of circular walks at the end of the 1970s.

The route is divided into seven stages each between 17 and 21 km: Kington to Weobley, Weobley to Bodenham, Bodenham to Bishops Frome, Bishops Frome to Great Malvern, Great Malvern to Upton upon Severn, Upton upon Severn to Ashton under Hill, and Ashton under Hill to Broadway Tower. Many of the stage points have bus or train links, as does Broadway near the finish. There are great contrasts throughout the walk with firstly the Herefordshire villages including the old black and white houses. There are numerous cider orchards before the Malverns are reached, with more 1000 foot peaks in a concentrated area than anywhere else in southern England. Two major rivers are crossed as the route continues on through the Vale of Evesham and then onto the Cotswold escarpment.

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Details:

Path Type:	Other Paths
Attributes:	Other Paths Challenging Agricultural land
Start:	SO295565 - Kington, Herefordshire
Finish:	SP113362 - Broadway Tower, Worcestershire
Open Date:	2015
Web Sites:	Guy's Rambles - Wyche Way

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Publications, Badges and Certificates:

Guidebook

Wyche Way: From Marches to Midlands  (Guy Vowles  - 2019 )

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