See https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/media/3237132/Mordiford%20Circular%20Walk.pdf for more information and details of the walk.
The loop starts in the small village of Mordiford which is home to a very popular pub called the Moon. You can either start the walk with a sharp uphill or a better idea is to walk slightly further through the village and do the loop backwards, especially if you're a family with younger children (this way you get to go up gently and have a steep downhill at the end). Parking is available at the pub in Mordiford or at a layby near the start of the route. You can also start halfway round the route at a car park up the hill. The walk is about 4.5 miles and takes around 3 hours to complete. There are plenty of places to stop for lunch on your way if you bring a picnic, with one beautiful view spot near another cache. Alternatively you can just stop for lunch at the pub before embarking, or for a treat at the end.
Legend of the Mordiford Dragon
One day a little girl called Maud was walking through the woods near Mordiford when she chanced upon a small creature that resembled a shiny cucumber with tiny fluttering wings. Maud played with the creature for a while and had so much fun that she decided to take it home as a pet. Her parents instantly recognised the creature as a dragon and her father threatened to kill it, but gave in when Maud cried and pleaded for its life to be spared. Fearing that he might still attempt to kill her new playmate she took it away to a secret hiding place in the woods and fed it on milk. The little dragon grew very fast and soon milk alonewasn’t enough to sustain it, so it began killing the livestock from surrounding farms. At first the dragon ate ducks and geese, but then its appetite turned to sheep, then cows and finally local people. However, it never touched Maud who continued to visit and play with her pet. The villagers became terrified, but did not know what to do, as none of them were brave enough to approach the dragon, let alone attempt to kill it. Then one day a man with nothing to lose volunteered to tackle the fearsome beast. He was a condemned criminal called Garson who was guaranteed a free pardon if he could put the Mordiford dragon to death. Garson discovered that every day the dragon went down to drink from the banks of the river at the point where the Lugg meets the Wye. He placed a large cider barrel nearby, hid inside and waited for the dragon to appear. When it started to drink Garson shot an arrow through a hole in the barrel, which went straight into the dragon’s heart. Although Garson was successful he never received his reward as the dragon incinerated him and the barrel with its dying breath. Up until the 19th century an image of a large green dragon or ‘wyvern’ was painted on the western wall of Mordiford Church. The first record of the dragon from the end of the 17th Century states it had three pairs of wings and four pairs of legs.