A FAMOUS borders walk is gearing up for a New Year and a new look as path improvements continue and a special walking route podcast prepares to launch.

The Offas Dyke trail will be more accessible than ever when plans to strengthen signage and ultimately provide Bluetooth enabled marker posts so routes can be downloaded on-site are complete.

The trail - among the top ten long distance walks in England - is funded by Natural England, The Countryside Council for Wales and the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority (BBNPA).

Trail officer Rob Dingle said: “We know most visitors look at the internet before coming, and possibly afterwards too, so introducing podcasts, giving them ‘on the spot’ information, history and routes is our way of responding.”

Repair work within the National Park and on the Herefordshire stretch of the path, which gets 10,000 visitors annually, is ongoing.

The local section at Hergest Ridge near Kington is also said to have inspired Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, as well as Sir Arthur Conan Doyles’s The Hound of the Baskervilles.

“Being a cross-border trail gives Offas Dyke a special edge, as you criss-cross back and forth following history,” Rob said.