Today we left Chepstow (and Wales) and headed to Much Birch in Herefordshire.
Tom and Matt were walking with us today with Mehdi & Charlotte part walking and part transporting our bags.
The name Chepstow derives from the Old English ceap/chepe stowe, meaning market place or trading centre and was first recorded in 1307. Chepstow Castle (which we unfortunately didn’t get too see) is situated on a clifftop above the Wye and its bridge is often cited as the oldest surviving stone castle in Britain.
Chepstow racecourse looked fabulous in the mist and the early morning sun and then a nice walk towards the Wye Valley AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). Mehdi & Charlotte left us after an hour to walk back to Chepstow and get their car. We would see them later for the last part of the days walk.
We then had a long walk through the Wye Valley, very peaceful in the trees with lots of birdsong and sounds of streams. The sun was starting to make an appearance but was kept mostly at bay by the trees.
We made it down into Monmouth after a long descent. It was a busy bustling town in the sunshine – after a quick stop to buy some lunch we then headed out of town towards Much Birch.
Remembering that the descent into Monmouth on the reverse route last year would be a climb out of town this year, we forgot just how long this would be. 4 miles (6.4km) of solid climbing was our reward – as the sun was just getting into its full ferocity.
On the way we passed our 400 km milestone and then it was a long slog in the full glare of the sun and still plenty of hills to navigate as well. Our hope of an ice cream faded when the shop at St Weonards was closed. We did take the chance to reprise the photo from last year travelling in a different direction!
Finally we arrived, exhausted and probably overheated as well, at our hotel for the night and ready to do it all again tomorrow. This was certainly the toughest day so far due to the combination of heat and nearly 900m of ascent.
Keep it up !