Into Wales

A very exciting stopover in Bath where we were joined by Jo and LT who will be with us through to Manchester. Bath was magnificent and quite memorable. We were able to revisit the popular Roman Baths and the wonderful Georgian architecture, streetscapes of the Crescent and Circus and gardens but also attended a stunning lunch time organ recital in Bath Abbey and a theatre performance "Home" at the Theatre Royal - very similar to our own theatre. A sad farewell to Bath and we were in the car heading back to Severn View and the resumption of our journey at Chepstow on the other side of the Channel.

Crossing the old Bridge over the Wye River back into Gloucestershire we soon found ourselves on the much anticipated Offa's Dyke Path. The dyke, which is Britain's longest archaeological monument, was built by the 8th century Mercian king tokeep the unruly Welsh on their side of the border, takes the form of a bank on one side and ditch on the other and the England-Wales border roughly follows the line of it. The trail followed the wooded valley on the eastern side of the Wye passed high above the spectacular ruins of Tintern Abbey. At Brockweir we lunched at the HAPPA horse rehab centre where around 50 horses recover from neglect, illness or abandonment by their owners. From Brockweir we took the more scenic riverside option into Monmouth stopping for refreshments at Redbrook where we re-entered Wales. We encountered a number of fishermen trying their luck and one of them proudly displated an 11lb salmon which had been caught by his ghilly that morning, all fishing being subject to private fishing rights.

Monmouth was an ancient and attractive town featuring a beautiful 13th century stone-gated bridge which we crossed on the way out the following morning. The path the following day passed through an endless succession of farms up the river Trothy apart from the hilly and boggy King's Wood. We enjoyed lunch at Tal y Coed before passing the impressive ruins of the 12th century White Castle an old Norman fortress with most walls still standing and a moat full of water. A welcome cup of tea at the church at Llangattock Lingoed before heavy rain followed us into the Lancaster Arms at Pandy.

A steep climb out of Pandy the next morning lead us up on to the Black Mountains part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The route followed the Hatterall ridge all day with a height of 703m attained at its highest point. The trail alternated between bracken and peat, quite boggy in patches but the views of the surrounding hills made it most worthwhile and from time to time we encountered small herds of wild Welsh ponies. At the northern tip we began a long steep descent of about 4 miles through farmland to Hay-on-Wye. Overnight at Baskerville Hall an interesting experience - a fine example of decaying splendour but with attractive gardens.

The following morning we spent some time browsing through the book shops in Hay on Wye for which it is famous, and of which there are many, both new and secondhand, and was able to track down a copy of John Hillaby's "Journey through Britain" for which I had been searching for some time. We all agreed we could have spent a whole day there!! However the trail beckoned and we made what proved to be a bad decision to follow the Wye Valley Way on to Kington.
There followed a laborious and very slow struggle over nettle covered styles, through crops and along very muddy paths till we resorted to tarmac and found our way down to Kington for the night where our hosts at the Royal Oak Inn salvalged the day with some fine hospitality.

So it was back to the Offa's Dyke Path the following morning for a relatively short but attractive wandering through rolling hills and some of the best-preserved examples of the Dyke. Heading north out of the town we reached the highest golf course in England (390m). We crossed the fairways to Rushock Hill and rejoined the Dyke path. Highlights of what was a thoroughly enjoyable day included historic Burfa Farm, a restored maedieval farm house and multitudes of beef and dairy cattle and wooolly lambs. Again a steep descent into Knighton for a 2-night stay.