Started a new month with a really lovely walk today. We had a yummy breakfast at the pub where Rachel was staying, had an interesting history lesson by the pub owner (the wall beside our table along the roadway is 1000 years old, and was the border between Wales and England, thus the street’s name ‘Welsh Street’. Not until the 1970s did the border get moved to the river a few blocks away.) We left Chepstow and walked over the river on the A48 bridge into England, adding a little to our planned walk. We walked a gently hilly 9.2 miles; took it comfortably and slowly, and arrived in about 4 1/2 hours at our horse box home for the night in a forest above the town of Llandogo, just across the river Wye. Rain had been forecasted, but it held off for most of the day, and we pulled out our raincoats for just about 20 minutes. It actually was exceptional walking weather.
Not too far into the walk we came to the actual Offa’s Dyke. The powerful Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia (which covered most of central England), Offa built the wall in AD785 to protect his land from the Welsh. It consists of a tall bank of dirt, a deep ditch and a steep hillside. We were able to walk along the top of it for a while, although I think they won’t allow this for many more years because all the walkers do damage to this historic structure. Most of our time was spent in woodland, with soft paths. We walked by Tintern Abbey, but we didn’t walk down to it as we both have been there and it was a long way down to the river. The hike back up to the dyke wasn’t appealing, so I understand how effective it might have been keeping the Welsh on their side all those years ago.
We passed farms with pretty gardens, rare breed Balwen mountain sheep, fabulous looking fancy chickens, and one whose chickens are no more due to a fox. We were surprised by a couple monkjac deer darting across the trail. There were beautiful fields of bluebells and a fortunately placed tree covered section of the path to protect us a bit when the rain finally came down. We stopped for lunch resting half day down a hillside, where the path makers had kindly built an easy to use raised walkway.
At one point some wonderful person had placed a set of short poems on the kissing gates, reminders to appreciate the specialness of being out on a walk.
We finally arrived at our quirky accommodation. In the middle of the woods there is a rustic adventure-type center; we are staying in a converted horse box: two beds, kitchenette, deck, a log fireplace, and a shower room with composting toilet built into the side. It’s not luxurious, a bit moldy, but it has a kettle and two cute goats wandering around. Just right for the night!
