Monmouth to Brockweir: 9.6 miles (15.5km) +713m -661m (22 May 2010)
Brockweir to Sedbury Cliffs: 8.4 miles (13.5km) +463m -516m (23 May 2010)
There is nothing written specifically about these two walks but my memory of them is that it was very hot and the last few miles to Sedbury were endless. We were so late getting to Sedbury Cliffs that, once we had thrown our pebbles collected from the beach in Prestatyn, we had to arrange a car shuttle to get us to the Ferry Inn in time for lunch and presentation of certificates.
Of course what we didn’t realise at the time was that at the point where we came down the hill in Tutshill towards Chepstow and then turned left to Sedbury we were at the end of the Dragon Walk. The remaining 1.9 miles were being walked just to complete the Offa’s Dyke.
In the August 2010 edition of Lower Wye Rambler, Terry wrote an article which summarised the whole Offa’s Dyke experience.
The Lower Wye Ramblers completed the entire Offa’s Dyke Walk on Sunday 23 May 2010 – after three years of walking.
The group started the 177 miles, North to South walk on 27 May 2007, passing through hill, valleys, woodlands and mountains of the Offa’s Dyke path and finishing at Sedbury Cliffs om 23 May 2010. With all of our detours we probably walked a total of 190 miles. (Not me because I missed 4 sections – to walked a lot later)
In all 32 ramblers walked all or part of Offa’s Dyke, peaking at 27 on one of the legs. The group had an age range of 49 to 81 years – making them possibly the largest and oldest group (average age just over 65 years) ever to undertake the walk.
The Offa’s Dyke path runs through the most beautiful, deserted countryside. It took us through the rugged Clwydian Range, down to the stunning beauty of the Welsh borders and on to the Wye Valley. There were many challenging ascents but it gave everyone a real sense of achievement. The 27 degrees heat did make the final stretch quite a struggle, but throughout the three years there was terrific group solidarity.
We managed to find some absolutely delightful places to stay, returning for later legs where possible; the social aspect was a fundamental constituent of the walk. We hired coaches throughout, which proved to be relatively inexpensive, to get us to and from the walks. The sight of the coach waiting for us in the distance at the end of a long day’s walk is a memory which will stick with all the participants.
The path is brilliantly signposted from end to end. You hardly need a map, guide or compass. In fact, one of our members insisted on using a south to North guidebook and kept getting us lost!
Completing the walk entailed 11,000 vehicle miles, 380 hotel nights and contributed around £20,000 to the Offa’s Dyke economy: what brilliant value for money!
Now we have completed Offa’s Dyke, we needed another challenge and Terry once again stepped up to the mark and offered to organise walks along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path. Lucky for us this became part of the Wales Coast Path!
Total for the weekend: 18 miles
Total around Wales: 135.7 miles