A NATIONALLY renowned walking route has brought a group of influential visitors to Herefordshire.

Dame Fiona Reynolds, director general of the National Trust, has been walking the Offa’s Dyke route from Prestatyn to Chepstow.

She was joined by Sir Simon Jenkins, the trust’s new chairman, as the walk passed through the county.

At Hawthorn Hill, near Presteigne, the walking party was joined by composer Michael Berkeley, Sophie Andreae, chair of the Offa’s Dyke Association, and anthropologist Dr Stephen Hugh-Jones, who lives locally.