Day 54 Chepstow to Monmouth (16.7 miles, cumulative 911.4)

I set off remembering to follow signs with the little acorn for Offa's Dyke footpath, rather than the familiar seashell of the Wales Coast Path. I took one last wistful glance at the sea, knowing that the next time I see it will be near to the end of my journey in North Wales. 

The well-defined path passed through fields and woodland, rising gradually to offer aerial views of Tintern Abbey, then descending to Brockweir, where I met Liz and Ian (Liz is an old friend from uni). We walked on a quiet path next to the River Wye, then stopped for lunch next to an abandoned toll house. They returned to their car, while I continued through a large expanse of woodland, then followed a track which climbed continuously for several miles, eventually reaching The Kymin, a popular viewpoint which overlooks Monmouth. The flat coastal paths of recent days now seem distant, as Offa serves up a punishing array of hills over the next few days.

After the long descent into Monmouth and a relaxing hot bath, I met up with Liz and Ian for dinner.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 59 Newcastle in Clun to Welshpool (18.9 miles, cumulative 999.7)

Image
Apologies to the people trying to contact me yesterday - I had no wifi or phone reception at my B&B. Today's weather forecast was more rain. I feel as if I'm being punished for the endless weeks of sun I enjoyed earlier in my journey.  My B&B neighbour kindly gave me a lift back to the start of the footpath. I made very slow progess during the morning, walking just six miles in three hours. This was due to a steep climb at the start, then the infamous Switchbacks, a series of successive steep ascents and descents, which were even more challenging in wet conditions.  I commented yesterday about the stiles being replaced by gates. This clearly has not happened in the northern section of Offa's Dyke, where stiles are dominant, many in a poor state of repair. This only added to today's workload. From midday there were frequent heavy rain showers, so I added more items to my growing collection of wet clothes. Fortunately my hotel in Welshpool has a heated...
Read more

Day 63 Bodfari to Prestatyn (12.2 miles, cumulative 1,071.2) FINISHED!

Image
The last day! Shelley drove Gordon and me to the start of today's walk and I set off for the final time. We started with a long ascent, then zig-zagged our way through fields, moorland, woodland and country lanes, dodging some heavy showers on two occasions. Then Prestatyn came into view from above and we gradually descended into civilisation.  After 1,071 miles in 62 days, 4 hours and 45 minutes, I reached the end of my journey at the coast, having walked the perimeter of Wales. What an adventure! There are so many memories - 40 days of amazing weather, followed by a fair dose of rain, spectacular scenery, meeting interesting people en route for a few minutes or a few days, visits from family and friends, super accommodation, countless lasagne and chips dinners, steep hills, secluded bays, stunning cliffs, reliable trains and buses...... My body has coped admirably, with no injuries, no blisters, and no Covid. I've lost about a stone in weight during the journey. U...
Read more
Image
It's just over one month before the start of my big walking adventure around the entire border of Wales. This trip has been in the planning for so long, with the original walk due to take place in 2020, that it feels surreal finally to have reached this stage. The overall distance (1,050 miles) will be around 100 miles more than my last major walk between John O' Groats and Land's End (JOGLE) back in 2013. However, there will be significant differences in the two journeys: 1. The Walk Around Wales will follow just two defined footpaths - the Wales Coast Path and Offa's Dyke Path, whereas JOGLE offered complete freedom in the choice of route between the start and finish points. 2. The Walk Around Wales route will pass through dozens of coastal resorts, hopefully thronging with tourists willing to part with their cash by donating to my Cancer Research UK fundraising. In contrast, most of my JOGLE route passed through rural areas, so I had minimal human contact for long se...
Read more