Day 26 - Chepstow to Redbrook

Chepstow - a must to return to (The Walker says to make a list of places to come back to!) - it has an interesting town trail, riverside walks, a castle, historic buildings, writing on pavements, sculptures, a one-way system to get you around the narrow streets and easy parking! The lady in the tourist info was so enthusiastic about the place! They have made a real effort to attract tourists to their lovely town and I, certainly, was captivated!

Chepstow Castle

After a brief walk around, sadly, I had to leave to meet The Walker at Tintern Abbey. This is a fantastic place and reminded me of our recent visit to Rievaulx Abbey; they are so similar. Amazing structures. Not to be missed if you are down this way.

This is a beautiful area and I joined The Walker for part of the Offa's Dyke Walk (or was it the Wye Valley Trail?); it was lovely to be walking by the river,though I wasn't too keen on the cows who came to investigate the humans in their field - I had to walk back through their field on my own! Ever since we were chased by cows on Dartmoor when the children were young I have a healthy respect for them and avoid unnecessary meetings! The Walker just talks them to death! Seems to work though! Also went through buttercup fields with horses, who were too hot to notice us and on my return walk they were trying to find shade under a tree. Do horses eat buttercups? I have no idea!

Buttercups in the Wye Valley!

Looking forward to exploring Monmouth tomorrow - the Waitrose was good for purchasing tea!

From Bernie:

Today's walk 13.1 miles : Cumulative 343.0 miles

After yesterday's battle with the elements I think I deserved today! Sunny, warm, mostly a light breeze & an excellent introduction to a new path. First day on Offa's Dyke Path & I found it well sign-posted & well-kept - several of the narrower stretches had recently been cut & the only obstacles all day were small trees which looked as if they'd probably come down in yesterday's gales.

A brilliant walk: undulating woodland, farmland, high cliffs above the Wye & gentle riverside pastures. I've read in several places that this is the best of the National Trails &, after following it for only 1 day, I wouldn't want to argue.

I'd never been to Tintern Abbey so took a detour from Offa's Dyke & met Les there. Nestled in a valley on an extravagant river loop, it's sheltered & amazingly quiet - a lovely spot.

Met several groups of walkers in the woods above Tintern, all setting out on circular walks, & bumped into all of them again in the afternoon as we progressed upriver!

Tintern Abbey

Highlight of the Day: near the old Tintern Station, now an attractive tea-room & visitors' centre complete with railway carriages & refurbished signal-box, is the 'Circle of Legends' - a slightly incongruous but perfectly magical circle of wooden sculptures depicting 6 legendary Welsh characters. Again, I'd quite deliberately come to see these, having seen photographs... but I wasn't prepared for how impressive they actually are.

Circle of Legends

King Tewdrig - one of the Legends

Beer of the Day: At last! A superb cider! Weston's 'Old Rosie'! Had a couple of pints, at different establishments &, if my taste buds had a better memory than me, I'd be able to comment how these compared to 'Zennor Mermaid' & 'Golden Pig'! Suffice to say, it's a cracking cider & highly recommended!

Hopped, skipped & side-stepped (really!) backwards & forwards across the English-Welsh border all day & that will continue to be the case for much of Offa's Dyke.

Ann: had thought of a 'Song of the Day' right at the start but decided it would be too taxing on my tender brain! With your message in mind I've spent all day trying to remember the mid '60's track by psychedelic group 'Tintern Abbey' which was nearly a hit! I have it at home & it would be easy to find with my computer...... maybe today should have just been a Dylan track anyway!

Bob: Happy Birthday!

Pam: the power has to end somewhere - why didn't the wind & rain stop when I snapped my fingers? Must be losing my touch!

Julia: we seem to have adopted several ducks at different campsites & they're always very interested spectators at our barbecues! As you can see from the above I walked the Wye Valley today - a first for me & you're right, superb area.

John: surely you can't be jealous of the legs!!? Weather here continues to be windy rather than wet - when the rain comes it's in short, sharp bursts.... painful on the bare legs! Have sampled several ciders, some not even worthy of comment but the one I mentioned in today's 'Beer of the Day', Weston's 'Old Rosie' is 7.2%. The cloudy ciders are quite popular, often 6%-8%, but quality is very variable.

Redbrook - today's finishing point