The start at Sedbury cliffs is over a mile outside of Chepstow across the bridge into England so it was a case of walking to the start then heading back again until I reached the bridge. It had stopped raining for a short time as I carefully headed up the muddy slope to the big rock that signals the start of the walk. The usual photos and videos were taken and then I was off, gently heading down the slippery hill I had just walked up, I had started the Offa's Dyke Path, my 15th National Trail.
I carefully negotiated my way down the hill, no point hurrying down it, slipping and hurting myself just after starting the walk. At the bottom of the dip I went over a small bridge and up another grassy slope before descending to a rather muddy section. I was happy to reach a road and cross it to walk along a little gravel lane and a narrow path to emerge near houses. The original path was closed due to landslides so I just took the road to miss the short section out.
Eventually the road took me up to a busier road and soon I was crossing the bridge over the railway and road that heads into Wales and into Chepstow, this was the point I joined the Trail earlier. The next mile or so was pretty stop and start mainly along narrow paths between houses with the occasional field edge path, by now the rain had come on so the grassy paths were soaking, as were my shoes.
There would be plenty of woodland paths today, some of them slippery than others but this rain wasn’t helping. At least it was giving me a bit of shelter but soon I came to a wide track just as the rain poured down, I decided to take a short break and a bit of shelter and also a bite to eat. Sadly I knew the rain wasn’t just going to be a passing shower so I was soon on my way again.
I normally don’t like woodland paths as you don’t get much scenery but at least they gave me shelter. A sign told me I had a mile to go to Devils Pulpit and more woodland path took me there but today there was hardly any view, Tintern Abbey was hardly visible through the rain and low cloud which was a shame.
There was a choice of paths to take shortly afterwards, a riverside path or one keeping high and staying in the woods. I had seen enough of woods so I decided to descend to walk the recommended riverside route. I figured that even in the rain it would be more scenic than being in woods, and it was. A pretty straightforward path took me down to Brockweir, sadly the pub is closed so I headed onto the signposted riverside path.
The path was a lot firmer underfoot so it was nice to walk on but it wasn’t long before I was walking on grassy paths that were very soggy but my shoes were pretty wet by now anyway. It was a pleasant walk made better as the rain stopped, it would stay off for the rest of the day. Although the path was wet, I enjoyed the scenery walking through the valley, it was getting brighter and the sun even came out as I splashed my way across the wet fields beside the river.
Eventually Bigsweir Bridge came into view and this was where the two paths met again. A bit of road walking followed before going back into the woods again. I was getting hungry now and as if by magic I came to a small car park and a picnic bench, I wasted no time in resting my tired legs and having my lunch. It was nice to no longer have a waterproof jacket on but the trousers would remain on all day.
Sadly I had to press on so I left the bench behind and headed into the woods once more. It was now much nicer walking through the woods now the rain was long gone but I still had to take care as the ground was slippery in places. The path kept climbing until I was starting to descend towards Redbrook, the view looking down towards the village and the River Wye was lovely.
The grassy descent was very slippery so I gently made my way down to the village and visited the little village shop for a drink and a break before heading off. A steep and busy road would take me out of the village, carefully looking out for speeding cars before turning off. This road was even steeper and just kept on going before it became a track, still going up. Eventually it came to a horse riding school and levelled out as the track ended and a grassy walk through meadows began, the short grass here was dry and nice to walk on.
I then came to the Round House (built in 1794) on the summit of the Kymin where a few benches give fantastic views down to Monmouth. I stopped for a while to take in the view but also to think that it would be a steep descent to the town. I set off again and was soon heading down through a mud bath, it would have been easy to fall here so slow progress was needed here, my shoes were now caked in mud. A few more muddy sections were negotiated carefully before I reached the bottom of the hill and started to enter the town on the bridge over the River Wye.
My hotel was just at the start of the town which meant my first days walk was over. A day that had started out so wet and miserable had cleared up and been far more enjoyable but very muddy with the recent rain. It’s always nice to get the first day out of the way so as I try to get my socks and shoes dry and visit the chip shop, I’m happy to once again be on a National Trail and wondering what the following days have in store for me.
