To read about this trip from the beginning - click here.
The Brits are a nation of passionate ramblers and the Ross on Wye area is full of walks - long and short. You
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| Boat Inn cider stop |
could do the Offa's Dyke National Trail which is 177 miles. It meanders between the Welsh/English border. Or you could try one of myriad much shorter walks. We did the Puddingstone and Pubs Walk on our first day which is a 3 mile circular hike. The guide brochure suggests you allocate 3 hours to complete
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| Prisk Wood on Puddingstone walk |
it. It's an unbelievably beautiful route. Puddingstone is a particular granite that is gritty and hard wearing. It was made into millstones and used to mill amongst other things - apples to a pulp. The area is well known for it's ciders and there are two pubs on the walk where you can sample local ciders. I had a Black Dragon and my other half had a Hazy Daze. I also ate my body weight in blackberries which grow wild on the walk. A person can see why the Welsh have dragons and faeries in their folklore. The countryside lends itself to fantasy.
The following day we decided to explore towns in the area. We also needed to catch up on comms so found a cafe with wifi. There's not a lot for vegans or vegetarians listed on happycow.net (vegan website) so we decided to self cater from the second night on. Just because we have a limited diet does not mean there isn't good food for other people. There is a food
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| Angidy walk |
route you can take which has artisan bakers, craft beers and ciders and organic cheeses. After lunch we set off to Symonds Yat (East) to take in views. Symonds Yat trail is only 1.4 miles which is just as well as we started late in the day. No idea what a yat is but at Symonds Yat Rock you can apparently see 7 counties! I can't say I spotted the counties but it is a wide view.
The GPS went berserk en route to the yat and took us down a steep and narrow road. So narrow we had
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| Tintern Abbey |
to pull in BOTH side mirrors and ended up driving into someones property! They have road signs telling you to ignore GPS signals. Pity we only took notice of the signs AFTER our experience.
On our third day in the area, we checked out of hostel and set off to do Angidy River Walk and see Tintern Abbey. I don't know why I expected to see an Abbey. I guess because it wasn't described as a ruin. Which it is. Tintern is an ex abbey. Apparently King Henry VIII dissolved abbeys, priories and monasteries between 1536 to 1541. He removed roofs, helped himself to valuables and destroyed beautiful and historical buildings. Not very nice of him if you ask me. No different from some current despots.
Angidy Trail takes in an old wire factory and meaders
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| Wire smelting on Angidy walk |
along the River Wye. You can download walks in the area free from www.monmouthshire.gov.uk. After our walk we drove to Lea and checked into Lea House B & B. The owner was on holiday but a neighbour let us in. Not a lot to do in Lea and we didn't feel like trying to find a place to eat so we munched on snacks in room and watched telly. The owner arrived late and was stressed about lengthy delays to her flights. Unfortunately her cat had been run over and expired. She wasn't happy.
Move on to the rest of this post by clicking - here.
And read about other places we have visited by clicking on the My Holidays and Trips page. Labels: Angidy trail, Puddingstone and Pubs walk, Symonds Yat, Tintern Abbey