Ably led by Paul this week, we set off from The Wye Valley Hotel in Tintern after pre ordering food from their tasty lunchtime menu. We were so lucky with the weather as it was a bright and beautiful morning, not quite Spring but almost!
The start and end of the walk was the car park a few minutes drive away up the hill at Whitestone Picnic Site and Car Park. (On the road from Trelleck to LLandogo, opposite the turning to Tintern- map reference 523029) The picnic site is certainly a great one for families with children as there was a lovely little adventure playground there, with all the trees and woodland paths crying out to be explored. There is a toilet block too which looks fairly new but it is only open during summer months.
We set off with great enthusiasm up the first hill, a gradual uphill climb until we got to Ninewells Wood.The countryside is still very much in Winter mood but I like being able to see through the trees especially in deciduous woods whose leaves hide so much in summer. Still grey, but with a faint shimmer of green shoots here and there, spring is creeping nearer. The fields in these parts are very much marked by the grey dry stone walls which mark the field boundaries.
We travelled the paths through Ninewells Woods, boggy in places but easy walking, nattering about life as we went. Ninewells Wood is on the edge of Cleddon Bog a special area of scientific interest. Lots of bog plants exist here that are very rare. Lets hope none of them were trampled by our boots! Cleddon Bog has been described as "the best example of lowland bog habitat in Monmouthshire." I guess the blue super duck on the map Paul gave us, was a clue. Ever on wards, the watchful cows mooed at our passing, we encountered no wild boar....fortunately. The boar are apparently migrating from the nearby Forest of Dean.
Sorry the cows were a bit camera shy.
We continued across the Broad Meend through the woodlands. The conifers in this part of the world are gradually being cleared so the land can to revert to heath land. This new habitat is being fenced and grazed with Exmoor ponies, we saw a few. In the areas of broad leafed woodland I am reliably informed that the call of woodpeckers, song thrushes and bull finches may be heard. We heard a few tweets!!
Abandoning heavy winter wear, we trekked on aiming now for the final assault on the pub. The Wye Valley lunch was beckoning, only a few miles to go.
We walked on passed the poor tired tree with no gold in the roots. Duncan looked!
Cleddon Hall watched as we marched across it's fields! I wonder what Bertrand Russell, the philosopher and mathematician would have made of our motley crew. Bertrand Russell was born here in 1872, when the house was called Ravenscroft, a much more fitting name I think. Worth £1950,000 in 2013, this desirable 6 bedroom property with 32.5 acres was a steal for someone, Council Tax Band H.
We soon arrived at Cleddon Falls or Cleddon Shoots as it is sometimes known. A spectacular water fall which looked beautiful as it gushed down into the valley. Cleddon Falls has been a favourite with tourists for many years. In 1840 there was a pub here called The Three Pots. Now as an SSSI ( Site of Special Scientific Interest) it is the home for lots of special and rare bog plants. The spirit of the ancient woodlands is also here, perhaps making friends with the spirit of the poet Wordsworth, who also lurks in these trees.
We clambered down the challenging set of steps to get a better view and then clambered back up. Certainly a lovely spot to sit and muse. Finally on the home straight, we wandered back through the trees, you could certainly appreciate why poets like Wordsworth loved this part of the world. With the winding Wye below us we walked back through the woods and found ourselves back where we started. A great walk 4.5 miles said Mr Garmin. A very nice lunch was had by all back at the Wye Valley Hotel a walk we would love to do again.
Here's a map of the route we took. Many thanks Paul!
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