🏴 Break for the Border: Bluebells, Wye Gorge & King Arthur's Cave
Details
I’m leading this hike for London Social Hiking and sharing it here so my KoZa Trails crew know when I’m out on the trails in the UK. 😊
👉 Please note: all sign-ups and payments need to be done through London Social Hiking’s Meetup page here:
https://www.meetup.com/londonsocialhiking/events/313927812/
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Join us on a trip to the English-Welsh border – this time of year is particularly special, with carpets of bluebells and wild garlic filling the ancient woodland! 💜
We’ve created a list of FAQs to help answer your questions.
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Join London Social Hiking on a trip to the heart of the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty! The Wye Valley is well-known for its beautiful river landscapes, dramatic limestone gorges, native woodlands, impressive geology, historic hill forts, castles and abbeys. On this trip, we'll discover the River Wye – Britain's fifth longest river and certainly one of the most scenic. Much of the lower length of the river defines the border between England and Wales. We'll be hiking in Wales, with England on the other shore!
We'll do two short hikes, taking in the highlights of the area. On our first hike, we'll visit the famous viewpoint at Symonds Yat Rock. This limestone outcrop is perched 120 metres above the River Wye and provides spectacular views of the river snaking its way through the gorge. The pleasant woodland trail will take us through nature reserves to the limestone rock towers of the Seven Sisters and the dramatic King Arthur’s Cave, which provided a refuge for mammoths, hyenas and rhinoceros in prehistoric times. We'll cross the Indiana Jones style suspension bridge and also pass the distinctive red and white house, which famously featured in the Netflix series “Sex Education” (Otis's and Jean's home).
After resting and having lunch and hot drinks, we'll take a short drive to the start of the second walk. This hike features the picturesque viewpoint known as the Eagle's Nest. The Eagle's Nest boasts unrivalled views down the Wye Valley to the rocks of Wintour's Leap, Chepstow, the Severn bridges and the estuary. The superb woodland path will lead us along the edge of an escarpment to the extraordinary Giant’s Cave and the Grotto, before finally descending to Chepstow and its beautifully preserved, 11th-century Chepstow Castle.
This trip is suitable for reasonably fit BEGINNERS – a great way to experience hiking before joining our more difficult hikes! 🤩
ITINERARY
07:45 Meet outside Hotel Novotel London West, 1 Shortlands, W6 8DR (a five-minute walk from Hammersmith Station)
08:00 Sharp departure
11:00-13:30 Symonds Yat Rock, King Arthur's Cave and the Seven Sisters walk (difficulty: Moderate, distance: 7km, ascent: 280m)
13:30-14:15 Lunch near Symonds Yat Rock Café
15:00-17:30 Eagle's Nest, Wyndcliff, Lover's Leap and the Giant's Cave walk (difficulty: Moderate, distance: 6km, ascent: 150m)
17:45 Departure
20:30 London, Hammersmith
TRANSPORT
As on most of our trips, we'll travel in a comfortable 16-seater minibus.