Wye Valley, why?

Friday 26th August 2022

Finally the time has come to put the out of office on and head off for a week. We are going to a place called Owl’s Nest in the Wye Valley. We head off after work, so arrive in the dark but it looks promising.

Wow, it is so lovely and the weather was sunny, not too hot. Perfect. We decide to chill for two days, watching the many birds and lighting the wood fired hot tub.

We go to a family barbecue on Bank Holiday Monday. It was lovely to see everyone.

Tuesday 30th August

We head off to Eagles Nest, there is a bit of a theme here! It is a viewpoint at the end of a climb. I was glad we chose the higher car park and avoided the 365 steps. What a view!

We have the Gardeners World 2-4-1 card, so we decide to explore Dewstow Gardens. This was a great place to explore. The garden had been landscaped, buried and then discovered again. It has been replanted and the underground tunnels excavated. It really is worth a visit.

We are wondering what to do next, there is still time left in the day. Simon has found another walk not far from where we are staying. I look at the map on his phone and say Golygfan? We were there earlier today! Simon asks whether perhaps it is Welsh for viewpoint? Oh my, I laughed so hard at that point.

We stop off at Tintern on the way. We have a wander to see what else is around apart from the obvious Abbey. It seems we are either too early, or too late. The craft area is closed on Tuesday’s and the café was closing soon. So we carry on to the woods for our planned walk.

We set off on the circular walk to the viewpoint and discover some carved tree trunks in a picnic area. The day has really shown us some lovely things in the Wye Valley.

Wednesday, another lovely dry day, we have been really lucky with the weather. We decide to take the bikes through Tidenham Tunnel. It looks like we can join the route at Brockweir, so we set off down the lane.

We find ourselves on a restricted byway. This is a bumpy ride for our little fold up bikes. We then find ourselves at the top of a stepped footpath heading down. We bump our bikes down and are not deterred when the steps become a series of boulders!

Once on the cycle way things become much better and I am really enjoying the dappled sunlight through the leafy ride.

The tunnel is dimly lit because there are bats living in it. It is also cold, I can see the emergency signs are still pointing the way we came, this is beginning to feel like a long 1,000 meters. I must admit to being a little bit scared of the dark.

We come out the other side and I have a feeling of achievement. That’s something else ticked off of the list. We follow the path to the end and a quick look on the map doesn’t show a nearby coffee shop, so we turn around and head back.

We follow it to the end and it is confirmed that the bridge at Tintern is closed. We take some photos before heading back and tackling the boulder path. Simon helps me get my bike to the top, they are heavy due to the battery pack. I am pleased to say the battery was only put on for the uphill sections.

All went well until we got back. I tried to cycle up the ridiculously steep gravelled driveway. I ran out of omph, tried to increase the power, accidentally switched it off instead. So me and the bike fall sideways, I start to slide downhill. Ouch! Simon comes back as fast as he can to help. I have a grazed elbow and a headache. The hot tub is definitely appreciated after that.

Ouch! It’s the middle of the night, I felt something crawling on my arm, half asleep I swat it away. It’s stinging, I switch the light on to confirm I have been stung by a wasp. They have been flying through the bedroom all week. But now I’m having trouble sleeping.

Thursday 1st September 2022

We have a late start and decide to try another cycle trail after a bacon buttie.

The Forest of Dean has a family cycle trail, so after parking up, unfolding the bikes, we set off. I hear some people making remarks, I must admit I am a little fazed by the number of mountain bikes and Lycra cycle shorts I see. Me in my dress and sandals look a little out of place.

The trail is clearly marked and on the whole has a great surface. We decide to detour at Mallard Lake because we know there will be a cafe. The 1.5km there is worth it. It was lovely to hear people having fun at Go Ape and see a birthday party paddling on the lake on paddle boards.

On the way back to the family trail we got lost and had to double back on ourselves. Almost at the end Simon skids to a stop, I brake, look around him and see a Deer has stepped out onto the path in front. It stops looks around and then before Simon can get his camera out it crosses the path and disappears into the woods. Amazing.

So the answer to Wye Valley, why? Is it really is an area of natural beauty with so much to offer. We have heard Owls, watched bats and looked for shooting stars from a hot tub. We have had some laughs, some bruises (well for me, anyway) and some relaxing times away from the usual 9 to 5 (or 8 to 6/7 for Simon)