The Wye Valley and Symonds Yat Rock

Friday 23rd December 2011 

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.

The Forest of Dean

Thursday 22nd December 2011 

After a couple of days in Brecon I left and headed back into England, but just as I reached the border I nipped into the Forest of Dean. This is an area that I'd never been to before so when I realised that I drive past it every time I go to Brecon I decided to stop and enjoy the delights of this large area of woodland. I was possibly not seeing the forest at its best, but nevertheless this was still a grand walk with a much wider variation in colour than I would maybe get at other times of the year. Just like the day before I was following a walk that I’d found in the pages of TGO magazine. This time I was following the directions to walk 8 in the October 2011 issue. I parked near the Speech House Hotel in the centre of the forest and struck out along the broad Spruce Ride soon reaching the picturesque Speech House Lake. The weather for this walk was fantastic and  the sun shone along the length of the water lighting the northern end in a multitude of colours that you simply wouldn’t get in the middle of the summer. Returning to the Spruce Ride I followed the straight-as-an-arrow lane until it deteriorated into an abominably muddy track, which after the relaxing stroll along Spruce Ride was a huge crash back down to Earth. Somehow I managed to get through the slippery mud and up to the small hill-top settlement of Staple-edge where I turned right and slowly descended the ridge all the way down to Mallards Pike Lake which could be glimpsed through the trees. 

I crossed a road and continued along forest tracks into an open area which afforded me with good views of the surrounding area. I was finding that the problem with walking in woodland is that views are poor unless a gap can be found in the trees. At this point I could see over bracken and scrub to the undulating landscape of trees arrayed in their many colours, from the dark greens of the conifers to the light browns of the bare deciduous trees. After passing the Rising Sun Inn I joined a cycle track that took me all the way down to the Cannop Ponds. From the dam of the northern pond I climbed steeply through dark coniferous woodland to the edge of Broadwell, and turning north I took a weaving route along the western edge of the forest above the steep valley of Wimberry Slade until I got to Edge End where I turned back into the forest and wearily made my way back into the heart of the forest at Speech House. 

Walking though woodland is always invigorating but after a while it started to get a bit tedious for me. By the time I reached my car I was relieved to be back as towards the end the never-ending miles were beginning to drag. The lack of views is a real killer for woods but in small doses there is nothing better. If I was in the Forest of Dean in the spring maybe things would be have been different, as there would then be more to look at than just bare trees. I do have one reservation though in that none of the trees looked particularly old, probably because this is a working forest where mature trees are felled in favour of new ones. Still a return at a better time of the year would not be a bad idea to fully appreciate the appeal of the Forest of Dean.