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Fishpool Valley on the Croft Castle estate, Herefordshire
Fishpool Valley on the Croft Castle estate | © National Trust Images/James Dobson
Worcestershire & Herefordshire

Croft Castle Fishpool Valley walk

Discover the beautiful Fishpool Valley, landscaped during the late 18th century in the naturalistic ‘Picturesque’ style and now in the process of being restored. This pleasant walk takes in the chain of dams and pools, carefully planted trees and architecture such as the icehouse, grotto, pumphouse and limekiln.

Access to walking trails

All our walking trails are within the parkland at Croft Castle, so you'll need to pay the admission fee or present your National Trust membership card to access them.

Total steps: 6

Total steps: 6

Start point

Croft visitor reception, grid ref SO45119 65659

Step 1

Turn right at visitor reception and go through the gate. Ignore the track and instead head straight on, across the field, following the waymarks with the pumphouse on them.

Step 2

Keep following the pumphouse waymarks until you reach a gate. Go through the gate and close it behind you. You'll eventually come to some tall Douglas fir trees on your left and right. The limekiln will be straight in front of you. Continue along the path with the limekiln on your left and the pools on your right until you come to a gate.

Step 3

Go through the gate and close it behind you. You will then need to make a hairpin turn to your right, still following the pumphouse waymarks.

Step 4

Continue along the path, keeping the pools on your right. You'll eventually come to a small gate on your right, with a pumphouse waymark on it. Go through this gate and follow the path until you reach a rusticated grotto on your left, dating from the 1790s.

Step 5

Keep following the path through the valley, with the pools on your right. You'll see the cascade and dams 6 and 7, which are being restored as part of our conservation project. Continue straight on, until you come to a pumphouse waymark pointing down the hill to the right. Walk carefully down the hill and over the dam towards the Gothic pumphouse.

A stone building in the woods at Croft Castle, Herefordshire
The old pump house in Fishpool Valley on the Croft Castle estate, Herefordshire | © National Trust/James Dobson

Step 6

Continue past the pumphouse on your left and up towards the main track. Turn left onto the track and keep going until you see another track heading right, up the hill. Follow this back up to the gate at the main car park.

End point

Croft visitor reception, grid ref SO45119 65659

Trail map

Ordnance Survey map of the Fishpool Valley walk at Croft Castle, Herefordshire
The Fishpool Valley walk at Croft Castle, Herefordshire | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey

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Yarpole, near Leominster, Herefordshire, HR6 9PW

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