Under the bridge!

Goldcliff Sea Wall to Calicot

On the trail steps, 15,098 on the trail miles 6.5. Off the trail steps 3076, off the trail miles 1.3.

I drove back to the Goldcliff sea wall parking place, and set off on the embankment after reconnecting with my touching place from Saturday.

All was well on the embankment to begin with and progress was good. A combination of things made life a little more difficult. First of all there was a small holding with a very affectionate horse – who made access difficult as it was less than a foot from the kissing gate  and then followed me albeit at a better distance to the kissing gate on the other side. Second it got increasingly overgrown. I have known for some years that they do mow aspects of the path, but this needed doing and the cuttings from last time were adding to the difficulty. This is clearly not the most used part of the path! Other sections had not been maintained and needed it! This made it very slow going for about 3 of the 5 miles on the embankment. The view was encouraging and I had a couple of coffee stops on steps down to the estuary side of the embankment.

It was nice to see the Prince of Wales bridge getting nearer and nearer! I saw 2 walkers and a tractor the entire way! Rather remote!

It was also important not to overshoot on the embankment and get into a firing range. This was slightly tricky as I was on a section where I didn’t have the map on my phone (being off the edge of the Newport map and not quite on the Wye valley map I did eventually find the spot to turn off inland – but no where comfortable for lunch. So I took the inland cut – which joined the cycle path. After another hot mile in the heat of the day I  crossed the M4 on a road bridge – I took a detour into Rogiet country park and found a very suitable and much needed lunch bench.

It was then another mile to Caldicot station and a short wait for the hourly train service back to Newport.

 On arrival in Newport station, I ordered another Veezu taxi. Pick up was a bit more tricky and I got in the wrong place apparently (how was I to know!). The driver took me to the sea wall at Goldcliff and he was very taken with it! He was still there taking in the view when I left to drive home.

Caldicot to Chepstow

On the trail steps, 23,488 on the trail miles 10.11. Off the trail steps 4813, off the trail miles 2.

I started out early so I could get parked up in Chepstow and on the 9:21 train to Caldicot. Alas no room in my first choice of car park, so I missed the train. The car park I used (Castle Dell) turned out to be very fortuitous at the end of the day but I didn’t know that then. Using the Newport bus app, I walked uphill until I found the bus station and got a bus (X74) back to Caldicot which was a quicker option than waiting for the next train.

I walked from the bus stop to my touching point and set off! It was another ½ a mile on the cycle track and a footbridge over the M4 followed by several miles back on the embankment next to the estuary. This time I crossed under the Prince of Wales bridge – which was really quite cool!!

I stopped for a coffee in an iron age fort at Sudbrook, and a suitable bench looking across to the Prince of Wales bridge. I then carried on for about 4 miles of embankment walking with a short breather at the black rocks viewing point. This time the M48 bridge was getting closer in front, and the Prince of Wales bridge getting further away behind! As I started the trek back inland and over the railway I got back on the map on my phone – this time the Wye Valley one. This helped as the route involved crossing various fields and was not always very clear! I had a shady lunch on a warm day in Mathern Church yard.

After this it was a hot and long stroll back to Chepstow. There were  contours which are days of walking on a flat embankment was a bit of a shock. There were even 2 stiles (one at a leaning angle) to contend with. I went a bit wrong in the field section, and then up to an industrial estate and park, and then down to go under the M48 in a decorated tunnel. The up into a wooded section, steeply down and then equally steeply back further up into a housing estate! Then another long wooded section and eventually out through the port wall and down into the town.

I was very tired by this point but determined to keep going as the finishing point was the end of the trail marker (Not the end for me as I still have more to do!). I also saw the start of the offa’s dyke trail!

I finally got there and had a chocolate ice-cream and a coke zero sitting on the Wales Coast path bench! I also took some photos of some seals (which could be a treat for another day). A short stroll back to the car was much appreciated at this point as I had walked the furthest I have done on this holiday and was rather tired and also pretty hot!