This 14.5 mile circular hike straddles the border between Wales and England, both in the modern and ancient sense. We started walking from a free carpark at the National Diving & Activity Centre (NP16 7LQ), currently only open at weekends.
From here we joined the stunning Wye Valley Greenway, an incredible path for walkers and cyclists, created by transforming the old Wye Valley Railway. This path includes the 143 year old, 1km long Tidenham Tunnel, only open during daylight hours from 1st April - 30th September, at points this disused Railway tunnel is 100 meters deep. No additional artificial lights are allowed due to the important bat population that live within the structure but they have installed low-level lighting. We loved the eerie coldness and jump-scared each other a few times, it is just an awesome and unusual historical landmark, really worth experiencing if the opportunity arises.
We continued to follow the Greenway, with the Wye River rumbling to our left, all the way to The Wireworks Bridge leading into the picturesque village of Tintern, Wales. Country hopping via the Wye River, the most magnificent border in the World....probably! We had a poodle around Tintern, went to see the ancient lime kilns and huge Abbey, founded in 1131 by the Lord of Chepstow, Walter de Clare, it was the first Cistercian Abbey in Wales. Sadly damaged during the Dissolution of the Monasteries but still in relatively good condition, and looked after extremely well, lots of restoration works were going on the day we were there.
We left Tintern via the Wireworks Bridge, popping back into England for a walk up to the 13th Century Brockweir village. Not only was this area an important river crossing point but the site of a weir, gifted to Monmouth Priory in 1120 by the Lord of Tintern. This gave rise to the village's name and made the area rich via trade. The ancient weir itself can still be seen in the shallows underneath Brockweir Bridge. We sat near the Wye for a while, just soaking it in, and drinking tea.
Just a few meters out of the village the Offa's Dyke Path begins, so we took it! The path goes pretty sharply uphill and into the woods. Soon we were able to see the bank and ditch earthworks of Offa's Dyke, an amazing sight and feeling to be walking the old border between Wales and England. Offa was the king of Mercia (AD 757-796), it is believed he had the 177 mile defensive dyke built, stretching from the Severn Estuary to Liverpool Bay, in order to separate the kingdoms and defend Mercia. The woodlands here are incredible, cooling on this humid day but also they have a touch of magic about them, hard to explain but we all felt the same way, a special place full of Yews, Hazel and Beech. We chose to follow Offa's Dyke all the way back to the Greenway, we were even walking on top of the Tidenham Tunnel at some points, not that you can tell from the ground, only the map gives that away.
We followed the Greenway to the National Diving & Activity Centre and back to the cars, a totally perfect day in the Wye Valley, we can not wait to return and explore more, WHAT A PLACE!
Thank you for being here, all the best, Ceri & Kat!
And thanks to Dave for joining us!
/ teainvalhalla
/ teainvalhalla