Day twenty: chepstow to Monmouth

Our first day on the Offa's Dyke trail.

We had a schedule today and I was very excited. We were meeting my sister Jill at lunch time to receive my next dose of medications and more importantly my first opportunity to see my sister, brother-in-law and little niece.

A nice touch along the way:







Climbing out of Chepstow was beautiful as we hugged the cliffs overlooking the River Wye and started to walk along the actual dyke. Time for a little history lesson.....

This dyke was constructed by King Offa, the powerful Anglo-Saxon King of Mercia, in the eighth century and follows the border of Wales and England. Back then it was an earthen mound about 30 feet high with a deep ditch and was intended to keep the Welsh out of his kingdom. The national trail follows this dyke from the Severn estuary to Prestatyn in North Wales. It is still visible now but only in sections and even then it is not obvious as it is nowhere near that high anymore and usually hidden beneath dense vegetation and trees. The path is about 170 miles in length and passes through the border villages, constantly weaving in and out of Wales and England. A landscape dominated by castles and rife with stories of battles, heros, myths and dragons.

Wales has survived against all odds. Despite a constant struggle through hundreds of years of attempted invasions, Wales (Cymru in Welsh) has maintained it's identity and the Welsh their Celtic language. However Wales did eventually become under the sway of the English crown and in 1282, the death of Llywelyn the Last led to the conquest of the Principality of Wales by Edward the 1 of England. Since then the heir apparent to the English monarch has borne the title "Prince of Wales". Wales became part of the Kingdom of Britain in 1707 and the the United Kingdom in 1801.

We continued to walk through the woods with occasional tantalising views of the River Wye far below, until we got to the rocks of the Devil's Pulpit and got a fantastic view of Tintern Abbey on the banks of the Wye. So named because the devil is supposed to have preached to the monks in an attempt to divert them from their calling.





We walked on down to the Abbey and was so excited to meet with my sister I forgot to take a picture of this amazing place. But I did get one of Jill and Edie.






After a tearful reunion we shared a picnic in the car park of Tintern Abbey whilst I told stories of my exploits so far and tried to put in to words how fantastic I was feeling.

As my sister lives in Ross-on-Wye and not too far away, it was suggested that we come back and stay with them but I was nervous about becoming too cosy there and decided it was probably better to keep moving on. We also have a reunion planned shortly and knew I would see Jill again soon.

We walked on towards Monmouth, getting a little lost and frustrated along the way.






But found another pub across this bridge and refuelled on a pint of beer and
twigletts.






Before walking the long, hot and sticky path along the banks of the Wye in to Monmouth.












Tired and hot after having walked 15 miles we arrived in Monmouth and couldn't find anywhere to stay. The campsite was north and out of town a few miles so this was not an option. The only beds left available in town were in a Mexican restaurant. Not wanting burritos for pillows and now unable to resist the idea of cosy at Jills, we gave them a ring. Within 15 minutes we were in their car, within 30 minutes we were eating veggie burgers and drinking wickedly strong Belgian beer.

I cannot for the life of me think why I nearly passed up this opportunity to stay with my sister.

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