Monday 27th January 2014
A short morning walk down to Sedbury Cliffs to finish the Offa's Dyke Path :-)
Distance: 6.5km; Ascent: 150m; Mainly sunny; Solo
After yesterday's wet day, today dawned bright and sunny :-) I set off walking from outside Chepstow castle at around 9am and crossed back over the old bridge into England, with good views to the steep limestone cliffs above the tidal River Wye.
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| Chepstow Castle |
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| Chepstow Castle from the old bridge |
For the next couple of kilometres my route took me along urban footpaths and through housing estates before I met the Offa's Dyke again near Buttington Tump. A pleasant half-kilometre of walking along the dyke was all I had left to complete the Offa's Dyke Path.
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| Last section of Offa's Dyke |
Soon I reached a large stone at the top of Sedbury Cliffs, which marks the southern end of the Offa's Dyke Path. I rested here for a few minutes to contemplate the completion of my second National Trail, which I had started almost two years ago to the day.
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| Plaque marking the southern end of the Offa's Dyke Path |
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| Just finished the Offa's Dyke Path :-) |
There were good views from here across the River Severn and downstream towards the old Severn Bridge. After feeling suitably refreshing I decided it was time to return to Chepstow, but by way of a slightly different route to make this morning's walk a bit of a circular walk instead. A path ran SW along the top of the cliffs to reach the edge of the foreshore, again with good views towards the Severn Bridge.
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| The Severn Bridge from below Sedbury Cliffs |
I followed an alternative footpath back to the road and Buttington Tump and then as time was getting on I decided to follow the road through Sedbury directly back to Chepstow. I arrived back at the hotel at around quarter to 11 and just had time for a quick shower and to finish packing up before the check out time of 11am. I now had a little over an hour before my train home, so I decided to go for a wander around the impressive ruins of Chepstow Castle.
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| The River Wye from Chepstow Castle |
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| Chepstow Castle's 12th century doors |
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| Chepstow Castle |
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| The Great Tower, Chepstow Castle |
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| Looking down the Wye from Chepstow Castle |
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| Chepstow Castle |
After spending 45 minutes or so exploring the castle and climbing the various spiral staircases to viewpoints on the tops of towers I headed for the station after a good 2.5 days walking along the southern most part of the Offa's Dyke Path.
See also my Social Hiking live map from the walk.
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