After finally setting off on my hike from Llanwarne, Herefordshire, I was glad to be at one with my home county’s beautiful countryside again. Unfortunately, things started to go awry, and I was forced to trudge back to my car only a quarter of the way into my walk. But least I made a furry friend along the way.

For almost three centuries, the west end of High Town was dominated by Hereford Market Hall. It was once looked upon as the finest timber-framed building in the whole kingdom, and was a great source of pride for the city’s residents. If that was the case though, why did it disappear?

The City Arms Hotel was once one of Hereford’s premier establishments, even rivalling the Green Dragon for a time. Its guests included a duke and an admiral, and the building remarkably has a link to one of Britain’s greatest naval battles. But how did it go from a prestigious hotel to a branch of Barclays Bank?