Total miles: 15.8
Elevation gain: 2,486ft
Time walking: 12 – 7:30pm
Miles to date: 329.4
Today was a lovely, uneventful, sunny day! Yay! It started off with a relaxing morning drinking tea and eating breakfast by the Rayburn looking out at the beautiful view. I was tired from yesterday and didn’t have too long a day today so let my body rest a bit, which it was very grateful for!
Today was my first full day on the Offa’s Dyke path and I was looking forward to getting stuck into it. I had walked part of today’s section before so I knew I was in for a lovely day. The first part was through lovely beech woods on top of the steep slopes above the River Wye, with classic views down to Tintern Abbey, before dropping down to Brockweir right on the the river itself. The path splits here and you can choose a higher or lower option. For once I chose the lower option, which followed the river for 3 miles rather than going up over a common. I’m glad I made that choice as there were a few big hills still to come!
It was warm again today and out of the pleasant shade of the trees I could feel myself baking, such a change from yesterday! The riverside path was very pretty and easy going and apart from one field of very docile cows for once there was no other livestock to contend with! I was actually a bit dismayed when I saw the cows, less for the potential for being chased and more for the letdown of now not being able to triumphantly declare it a cow-free day! It was definitely a bull-free day though, whoop! It was also nearly a stile-free day too which made a pleasant change!
The rest of the day mostly went through beautiful woods with nice cushioned ground to walk on and some (empty!) fields. There were a couple of hills to contend with, the last one being particularly long and tough. That was all worth it though for the view when I finally got to the top. It is at the Kymin, which has a naval monument and a Georgian banqueting hall. The view drops away down to Monmouth below and out to the black mountains beyond – my destination for a few days’ time!
The last couple of miles down into Monmouth were steep and I ended up jogging a few bits to avoid too much pressure on my knees! I arrived later than I would have liked but still in plenty of time for a cup of tea, a shower and a good feed! And some washing! It’s only 10:30pm now but my eyes are drooping and I’m going to head to bed as it’s a longer day again tomorrow. I head to Pandy, and I haven’t arranged my accommodation yet, oops, so chances are I’ll be camping! I’m hoping to take a rest day in Pandy so I miss the forecasted bad weather and build up some energy for the Black Mountains!
Much love, and keep smiling!
Jen xx
