After great weather for my walk around the Forest of Dean the day before I was disappointed to wake up the next day to rain for my last walk in the area. I’d planned to take a long walk beside the River Wye all the way into Highmeadow Woods, not far from the Forest of Dean, but in the end after walking all morning in the pouring rain I quickly returned to my car in time for lunch. I had spent the night at the isolated youth hostel of Welsh Bicknor beside the River Wye not far from the Welsh border (but despite the name it is not actually in Wales). Although my walk was in the area of the hostel I decided not to leave my car there but drove over the headland into the village of Goodrich. There is a (by all accounts spectacular) castle in Goodrich and I could have parked there, but instead I chose to park by the side of the road in the village.
From Goodrich I dropped down to Kerne Bridge and walked beside the river through Thomas Wood around the wide meander that eventually brought me back to Welsh Bicknor Youth Hostel. Soon after passing the hostel and the old church next door I reached a disused railway line which comes out of a tunnel at this point and crossed the River Wye. The bridge is still intact so I was able to use it as a footbridge. Standing in the middle of the bridge was an awe-inspiring feeling as the fast moving river swirled past the huge supports of the old girder bridge. I was in an eerie setting with mist-shrouded woodland upon the hillside on one side of the bridge and seemingly derelict factories on the other side, and all the while the river was gushing rapidly under my feet.
Resuming my walk beside the river I soon rejoined the railway for a pleasant walk along the rutted track heading inexorably towards a great towering mass of rock and trees. I was approaching Symonds Yat Rock, a huge wedge of hill that forces the Wye into a sharp turn through a narrow gorge before turning once again to pass the western side of the rock. Despite the misty conditions, the sight of this tall bastion of rock was still an awesome sight. Passing below the rock I eventually found a path that led me steeply up the hillside onto the road that passes over the top. A further short climb took me up to the top of Symonds Yat Rock itself at the viewing station that the Forestry Commission has built for the benefit of tourists. The views from either side of the hill of the sharp meanders of the River Wye were amazing.
In better weather I’m sure this place is packed with tourists, and deservedly so. I was disappointed to be there in such poor weather when visibility was so poor, but at least I was able to enjoy what views there were without the noise and bustle of other people. After a steep drop down the steep western slopes of Symonds Yat Rock I emerged beside the hotels and public houses of Symonds Yat East, which was strangely devoid of people. For this walk I was following Walk 9 of the July 2011 issue of TGO magazine, which directed me at this point to continue alongside the River Wye to the Biblins Bridge, but by now I had gotten fed up with the rain so I decided to head back to Goodrich. By river this is more than ten miles away, but due to the severe meanders on the river it is only two miles by road, so under heavy wind and rain I walked along the road all the way back to Goodrich. This was a very disappointing walk as the terrain promises so much and what I saw only whetted my appetite but ultimately it was just too wet.
In better weather I’m sure this place is packed with tourists, and deservedly so. I was disappointed to be there in such poor weather when visibility was so poor, but at least I was able to enjoy what views there were without the noise and bustle of other people. After a steep drop down the steep western slopes of Symonds Yat Rock I emerged beside the hotels and public houses of Symonds Yat East, which was strangely devoid of people. For this walk I was following Walk 9 of the July 2011 issue of TGO magazine, which directed me at this point to continue alongside the River Wye to the Biblins Bridge, but by now I had gotten fed up with the rain so I decided to head back to Goodrich. By river this is more than ten miles away, but due to the severe meanders on the river it is only two miles by road, so under heavy wind and rain I walked along the road all the way back to Goodrich. This was a very disappointing walk as the terrain promises so much and what I saw only whetted my appetite but ultimately it was just too wet.
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