Offa's Dyke Walk    

Chepstow to Tintern 

September 5 2024

The really big news for today is that Mike got his backpack back today.  While no one has been as worried about it as Mike there is no question that we have all been very concerned about it.  This morning Mike took the train up to Newport which is the next station on the line and where a regional lost and found is. Walked in there and there it was.  Everything was in place and what great news.

The nice sunny weather the region has been experiencing disappeared today and things turned rainy and I mean really rainy.  There was a yellow alert issued by the weather office.  Even the locals were complaining about how rainy it was.  As we started off this morning there was a light drizzele but it just kept getting heavier and heavier.  I started off with my light jacket and within and hour I had my full on rain coat on and my rain pants.  My weather proof hat was soaked through and water was running down my face.  

The path was right n front of our hotel and we were just a few steps away from our first stamp in the passport.  The path followed on up a pretty step hill along the main road.  However it wasn't far before we took our first wrong turn and were down some alley which forced us to retrace our steps. Not far maybe a quarter mile.  On the main track and then off course again.  Back to the main highway and we followed it for a while but we knew that we weren't on the course as there was no shoulder or worn down path.  We found a sign which took us off the highway but it turned into some sort of narrow path which lead down to the river and at the bottom of the cliffs.  That path dead ended in a huge pile of boulders.  We could see an old quarry above us but there was no way up so we had to back track again.  In the end we turned our 7 mile hike into 9.3 miles. 

The taxi right back to the hotel was great.  It was so nice to be whisked back in to town.

Terry