The plan for today was to get oriented to "walking" by doing a 12.8 mile circular walk from Chepstow to Tintern and back, the Wye Valley Way being the outbound route and Offa's Dyke the return. Just so you know, I did actually make it to Tintern where I took a ten minute break to have an ice cream cone.
The remains of the Abbey:
The Wye Valley way was mostly through woods where there were lots and lots of tree roots (as one would expect) and many rocks, and some disconcerting, confusing bits, It was ALL UPHILL. It was so uphill that there were many stairs:
When you see these stairs of rock held in place with large iron pegs, you realize how much work goes into making a path. The serious sets of stairs had railings. And the most serious staircase was:
That is because it straddled an abyss.
There was also a grotto (at least that is what the sign said):
Oh! And in one place there was a break in the trees ,and you could glimpse the River Wye way down below:
Shortly after Tintern, there was supposed to be a turn off through woods cutting over to Offa's Dyke. Lots of people must find it difficult to find the entrance to this secret passageway because there was a piece of wood hanging from a tree swinging about that was supposed to be a signal that, "Hey, it is here!" But try as I might and having paced back and forth a half dozen times, I could not find it AND the hill was so densely treed and steep like you wouldn't believe that I gave up and took a route that added about four miles to the day's demands. (Then there were all the wrong turns and such). For example, this sign encouraged folks to make a left.
Well, I was all for a cow free day, so off I went, only by and by I realized that pushing though waist high grass to avoid some moo-ers was absurd. And you know what? There were no cows where this jokester didn't want you to go, anyway.
It was not a completely cow-free day, as this hungry horde demonstrates:
FINALLY, after many false turns:
(The acorn tells you you are on a National Trail, in this case Offa's Dyke. Oh, joy at last)
As I was headed back towards Chepstow, approaching a view point:
where you get a view of the Abbey:
(I think there is a joke there, but I don't get it), a gentleman walking in the other direction said, "You are almost there." I replied, "That depends on where one is headed." He mused for a moment and also replied, "That is very wise." I thought I had just stepped out of a Winnie the Pooh story.
Twelve and a half miles turned into about 17 or more. The app does not keep proper count when you use poles, but I left at 5:50 a.m. and returned at 3:15. with one 10 minute break. Seriously. And it was hot.
All day when I was not glancing at the news from Israel, I was WhatsApping with the taxi driver who, a few months ago, had told me he could take me to Tintern in the morning and my bag to Monmouth. But today he never replied. Back at the Inn, I asked if they knew of any taxis: "Here is the list," the guy said. Either the taxis were out of business or just didn't answer. I really wanted a ride to Tintern so that I would not have to walk 18 miles tomorrow, but it ain't happening. Fortunately, I did get a luggage service that agreed to take my bag tomorrow and the next day. (Luggage mostly set after that.) And also fortunately, Offa's Dyke is not as demanding as the Wye Valley Way! So much for the early check-in I asked for in Monmouth and paid for!
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