Pete, Dave H & Tav took the opportunity of a sunny November Day to complete a circular walk from Chepstow to Tintern and back using Offas Dyke for the way out and the Wye Valley Walk for the return.

Starting out in the car park beneath the impressive remains of Chepstow Castle we crossed the River Wye and immediately joined Offa’s Dyke. Dave & Tav were immediately nostalgic, having done this as part of our first day on Offa’s Dyke 18 months earlier. The path climbs steadily, skirts some impressive redundant quarries and follows a track to Wintours Leap, both a lookout point with a fabulous view of the river below and the alleged site of where Wintour had jumped his horse down the cliff to successfully evade pursuers during the civil war. I say alleged as looking at it today it’s impossible to imagine anyone surviving that jump.

The path here heads away from the river wye briefly over fields, but the views keep coming at the River Severn Estuary opens up ahead of you. After a period of enjoying the Severn, the path veers westward again to enter the forestry that blankets the Lower Wye Valley slopes. We followed the forestry paths along to Devils Pulpit with an outstanding view of Tintern Abbey far below, before leaving Offa’s Dyke to drop steeply down to the river, crossing it via an old railway bridge and reaching Tintern, where we took advantage of it’s touristy nature to have coffee and cake in one of the cafe’s.

Restored we joined the Wye Valley walk, climbing steeply through fields and into Black Cliff Wood. The path stays high in the woodland for a while until you reach the magnificent view point in Wyndcliff Wood. We dallied there for a while drinking in the views of the river and Severn bridges far below. From there the path gets narrower for a while and takes you through Giants Cave before heading through the more landscaped Pierce Wood and back to Chepstow. As a circular route on a fine day it’s hard to beat the views that this walk delivers.