No dummy run for Trefonen

Cumulative ascent: Approx 400ft - this is an undulating walk with several minor ups and downs so the cumulative ascent makes it seem more.

Walking time: 3 to 3.5 hours - this includes walking through some parkland and a walk in front of Woodhill, a fine country mansion, venture into industrial past.

Start at Chapel Green car park, Trefonen, Shropshire.

Cross at pedestrian crossing to green rectangle, walk down School Lane. Pass Church, school, village hall and playing field. Pass turning on right to Woodland View. Turn right after house No 19.

Pass garages and through signed bridle gate. (B) Down field and through second bridlegate. Ahead over earth bridge and across field to large visible field gate with walking gate alongside. Through and ahead on slightly left diagonal obvious path up bank.

At top pass waymark posts, through gap in trees, straight ahead to meet small road. Turn left past tall BW waymark and walk over cattle grid. Along road past farm buildings on your right pass larger gate to rear of Woodhill house set back on right. Ahead and in 50 metres turn right over stile at side of field gate to cross drive. (C)

The map from Ron's book

Over stile on far side of drive and turn sharp right. Walk along with fence on right and then with wall on right in front of the Ha-Ha with Woodhill House standing back across the lawn. Continue with wall on your right past field gate with waymarks.

Reach stile in the corner. Over stile and walk up field with hedge on right and passing two stiles continue ahead into corner. Turn left along hedge behind the very large clump of gorse. The gorse is in a stone circle. There is a wall and several rocks in there. Reach field gate with stile. Through onto road. (D) Turn right and walk up past junction and head towards Treflach hall and Wern y Weil.

Reach waymarked field gate on the right. (E)Through gate and up field with hedge on left. In 70 metres, reach stile on left and another. Over and walk down past tumbledown gate between rocks. Reach second gate, through and follow waymarked path on slightly right diagonal to large visible field gate. Go through waymarked gate with large sandstone posts into field and up hill with hedge on left to reach new stile in corner. Down to field gate in corner. Through and across on left diagonal to visible stile in hedge. Over and up left to compound near road.

Ron Bond of Oswestry who has written a number of rambling books

Go round to right hand side of compound to gate. Out on to Gibraltar Lane. (F) Turn left along Gibraltar Lane, down right and in 100 metres fork left. Ahead between cottages stay on main track through farm buildings now devoted to horses. Straight on and out to road. (G) Walk down to end of lane and pass house on the right. At waymark turn left over a stile into Dummy Wood. (H) In a few yards fork right.

Continue downhill on waymarked track ignoring diversions to left and right to the bottom of the wood and stile. Over into a field with some newly planted trees. Turn left and walk alongside wood.

Through walkers gate and ahead with wood on left. Over next stile and continue with wood on left. On reaching an old metal field gate in wood’s perimeter fence, with Woodowner’s house now visible over on left, turn right across open field to visible field gate. (I) Through and right on an obvious track.

Woodhill, Trefonen

Stay on track passing large pond way over on left and a stile. Reach large double fieldgates to road and kissing gate on left. DO NOT go ahead through gates. Turn left inside field and walk with hedge on right. Through kissing gate at end into an enclosed cutting. Walk along cutting, to large modern stile. Continue ahead to walkers’ gate out on to road. (J)

Turn left. Pass house and turn right up signed path. Over stile to field. Straight ahead in shallow cutting which then becomes an obvious railway embankment. Follow waymark posts.

Head ahead in next field for 25 metres to walkers’ gate. Through and across field. When hedge and ditch bend round to right go straight ahead. Aim to left of large modern garage.(K) Reach kissing gate. Through and along track to walkers’ gate. Through and go left on road. (L) Just before house on right go right over stile. Cross rough pasture through gap to reach stile into field. Through and cross road to new wooden stile up bank.(M)

Over and across field with fence on right and with Woodhill over on the left. At stile, over, cross drive and over stile out on to track. Turn left. Pass farm buildings and cattle grid. At tall BW sign fork right across field to small BW sign. Through trees, through gate, cross field, over bridge and up through two bridle gates to School Lane.(B) Go left back to start.(A).