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| This walk hardly needs
directions to find the way – just follow the Wye Valley Walk
up the west bank of the Wye, cross at Biblins and follow the
old railway line back to Monmouth. Start in Monmouth. You can
park opposite the leisure centre in Old Dixton Road. |
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| 50m back into town there
is a bridge under the bypass that will take you out onto the
banks of the Wye. Pass the rowing club on the river side and
follow the path north. |
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| The start of the walk
punctuated by a series of weighted gates with helpful
distances to places along the route. |
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| The first point of interest is the
minute church of St Peter’s with its white stucco walls. |
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| After a few more gates
the path takes you diagonally towards the A40 (the roar of
traffic will stay with you for a good few kilometres). |
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| As you round a small
coppice you will see a footbridge behind you on the right.
This is the continuation of the Wye Valley Walk and although
it appears to be going backwards it is the way on. |
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| After a couple of
kilometres the valley narrow and you enter woodland on a path
squeezed between the A40 embankment and the river.
Technically, you will be crossing between England and Wales
several times where the border wanders across the track. At
the end of the broad path you will see a walled garden with a
gate – stick to the river side of the gate. |
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| The path meanders along
the bank in a fairly organised way until you reach the point
where the river bends abruptly to the east. Back on the
straight, you emerge into a field with a big pink house and
enormous glass house up the slope. Stick to the river bank.
Look over your left shoulder for a glimpse of a mock gothic
pile on the bank (Wyastone Leys). |
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| Back in the woods, the
valley begins to deepen into a gorge and the Severn Sister
cliffs tower over you. You may occasionally be startled by
loud splooshing noises as if large animals have plunged into
the river but it’s actually caused by random eddies in the
current. |
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| Just west of the Biblins
Youth Camp you enter a gently sloping pasture that curves
round to the left. There are tables here if you fancy a break.
At the turn of the river you will find the rope bridge. It may
look spindly and precarious but it’s good and solid. |
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| Turn right at the end of
the bridge and follow the disused railway track (now a cycle
path) to the west. There’s plenty of evidence of the Forest
of Dean’s industrial past in quarries and giant concrete
structures decaying along the route. |
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| Nearly 3km from the
bridge, the cycle path doglegs to the left and you come out of
the woods into a lane between fields. |
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| The track curves round
the wide shelf of land in the crook of the river until you
pass Hadnock Halt – evidently once a station. When you
converge with Hadnock Road it’s tarmac all the way into
Monmouth. |
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| At the junction of the
A4136 turn right toward the old Wye Bridge. From here you
should be able to see the rowing club and your destination. |
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