Trick or treat. Jake and Maisie’s Halloween! And Bonfire night has flared up again.

 

The Worms turn Welsh.

Sorry about the snow storm over the Cambrians, but at least you can plot the paths of the Crimson Worms. The full map will be available for  viewing on Saturday.

 

 

 

Dear Rosie, Lauren, Stan, Jake, Rowan and Maisie!

Bobl’s back on the Welsh  road after a six week  layoff recovering in France from the excitement of almost completing England’s circumnavigation at Land’s End. Unfortunately I needed to recover from the recovery in France, so this last weekend  I nervously returned to Chepstow to test my resolve, overweight and energy levels   on The Southern Welsh Coast path .

The formal circumnavigation of England is  due to be completed this Saturday with the Finale  on Southend Pier, but now the race round  The Wales Coast Path is well underway, from the North at Bangor and, as of yesterday,  the South, at Newport. The finishing line will be at Aberystwyth . The North seems to have an advantage, but walking round  Anglesey could be decisive.

 

The blog will continue seamlessly from ‘Round England’ to ‘Round England and Wales’ and so will the  accumulative totals. After 18 miles and  nearly  walking to Newport yesterday, I have now clocked up  3,492 miles in 276 Walking Days in total. The circumnavigation of Wales  is generally accepted as 1100 miles of which I have now done about 300 miles. So that means I’ve got  about 800 miles to link Bangor to Newport.

I spent some time in Chepstow making sure I properly connected up with the previous visits. In December 2012 I finished Offa’s Dyke Path at Sedbury Cliffs with Tim. We’d had a tortuous time with the weather and the trail was not the best; we were soaked and tired and Tim was forging the path way ahead of me. As we approached Sedbury Cliffs overlooking the River Severn Tim stood aside and let me be the first to arrive, as he said it was my walk and I should be first. We’ll raise a glass to you Tim, on Saturday.

 

 

I again visited Chepstow to link Offa’s Dyke to the South West Coast Path at the end of January 2014, initially following the Gloucester Way southwards..

On 6th November, 2017, this final walking visit tied up all the loose ends up as I started following the Wales Coast Path red, yellow and blue and way markers of a fossil motif from the  River Wye.

The start of The Wales Coast Path and across the bridge in Chepstow where the Offa’s Dyke Path passes by  near Chepstow Castle

 

 

 

Ancient and modern; past the church, through the town wall and out under the M48 motorway bridge.

 

 

The older M48 Bridge first crosses the Wye and then the Severn…..our River Teme joins the Severn further upstream near Worcester. I walked  East over this bridge in February 2014 heading for the South West Coast Path. This visit I went West following the low lying marshes alongside the Severn with extensive England  views of Avonmouth and Portishead opposite.

 

The newer M4 bridge crosses the Severn further downstream from Caldicot to Redwick, roughly the same route as the Severn Railway Tunnel.

 

 

Pylons dominate the skyline as I leave  the built up areas and head for the wide open Caldicot Level.

 

The Severn Tunnel Station at Rogiet  provides express services to and from England. I just used their car park for Vera while I walked to Nash,.

 

Approaching Sunset and Gold cliff in the distance.

I was fast running out of steam and found a café at Goldcliff. I wanted to finish but the coast path was miles from any built up areas. I headed inland  resigned to walking a further 4 miles to Newport and attempted hitching a lift, but no takers. I was told I’d missed the local bus backto Newport where I was hoping to catch a bus to Vera at Rogiet Severn Tunnel Carpark.

I  eventually  got to Nash and heard a big vehicle behind me and moved into a layby to let it pass, suddenly realising it was a bus, so I changed my hitch hikers thumb for a signal for the bus to stop… and it did. I negotiated a fare to Newport and another bus back to Vera. Serendipity is alive and kicking in Wales.

Vera was still at the Severn Tunnel Carpark  and soon I was heading homewards.

 

I’m back!