Day 39 Wye Valley Walk continues, with a bit of Offa’s Dyke

Today we did a mixture of Offa’s Dyke and the Wye Valley Walk. We had found yesterday surprisingly strenuous despite the short mileage and decided that today we would avoid as many hills as possible.

Our B&B last night was a little eccentric. We had two rooms, a corridor, and a bathroom. And a locked door that led to another bedroom that we could see from one of our windows. Penny suggested there might be someone locked up in there which I didn’t take seriously until, on going to bed, I heard a rustling sound in the corner of my room. It freaked me out, I can tell you. Luckily I was just tired enough that it didn’t keep me awake. We forgot our masks this morning and got all the way to breakfast before scampering back to our room, trying to avoid the landlady who we could hear in the kitchen. Then the door handle came off in Penny’s hand. We definitely had the giggles by this point and it was hard not to laugh out loud as she desperately screwed it back.

Breakfast finished, we set off along the bank of the very fast-moving tidal River Wye, crossing at the bridge at Brocksweir

There are two Offa’s Dyke routes here, the high (not a chance) and the low. The low route runs beside the English riverbank along a grassy path in a meadow

We sauntered along this bank enjoying the views of the river. We walked along an oak lined avenue, admired the bridge (we were staying on the English side) and arrived at Bigsweir where the path took us uphill into the woods.

Apparently this was where we could see the Dyke itself from the path but we didn’t notice it. To be fair, the guidebook did say it was mostly obscured by trees. It was on this section that we met Karen and Paul. Karen has taken some months off from work to walk several paths, Offa’s Dyke, the Pennine Way and the Coast to Coast. Today was her second day. Her partner Paul, was walking with her as far as Hay-on-Wye.

Karen and I walked along chatting for ages about the things long-distance hikers chat about. Size of pack? Camping, and if so, wild or campsite? Cooking? Food preparation (Karen is a chef so had thought a lot about food). What type of stove, you get the general gist. She has a YouTube channel -My big free life where she is hoping to upload daily videos of her journey. Penny and Paul were left to chat to each other. Karen said she was pleased to get tips from a seasoned hiker (yes, that’s me). I don’t feel very seasoned. My feet do -they continue to play up and once more I am lying on my bed, not moving, and Penny has volunteered to go for a takeaway.

We left Karen and Paul in Redbrook where I bought lunch from the village shop, Penny having sensibly bought two lunches yesterday , and we sat on a shady bench in the park by the river, enjoying the antics of a canoe that got stuck in the shallows

The afternoon continued pleasantly apart from a short interlude on the main road. We had river views all afternoon, and reached Monmouth about 3.30. We explored Monmouth, identifying several possible lunch-buying places (Greggs, M&S, local bakeries) as I will need two days of lunches tomorrow as I head off to rural Wales.

Monmouth thoroughly explored, we stopped for tea and cake in the courtyard of the Marches deli before heading to the pub where we are staying tonight. (They don’t do food but will provide crockery and cutlery if needed for one’s takeaway.) And who should we meet walking down the Main Street but firstly a couple we had bumped into en route and then Karen and Paul.

I forgot to mention earlier that I now have my very own Offa’s Dyke path sign. Not torn down from an old signpost but given to me by a man from the Council who was putting in a new kissing gate. I’d like it on the record that no kissing was involved.

Penny leaves tomorrow, heading back to Oxford and I make for Llangattock Lingoed.