🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Break for the Border: Wye Gorge, King Arthur's Cave & Symonds Yat

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This hike is now FULL.

We’ve created a list of FAQs to help you.

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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. You may choose to visit the beautifully preserved, 11th-century Chepstow Castle instead of undertaking the second hike.

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; 11:30-14:00 Symonds Yat Rock, King Arthur's Cave and the Seven Sisters walk (difficulty: Moderate, distance: 7km, ascent: 280m); 14:00-14:45 lunch at Symonds Yat Rock Café; 15:15-17:30 Eagle's Nest, Wyndcliff, Lover's Leap and the Giant's Cave walk (difficulty: Moderate, distance: 6km, ascent: 150m), or free time to explore Chepstow and visit Chepstow Castle; 17:30 departure; 20:30 London, Hammersmith.

TRANSPORT

As on most of our trips, we'll travel in a comfortable 16-seater minibus with air conditioning and Wi-Fi.

FOOD

We'll stop for a snack lunch after the first hike. You can bring a packed lunch with you, or buy hot food and drinks at Symonds Yat Rock Café.

SAFETY

This hike is led by an experienced, Outdoor First Aid qualified hike leader.

BOOKING

Please RSVP and pay by bank transfer to the account below, leaving your Meetup name and the name of the trip as a reference (e.g. John Wye Valley):

Business Account Name: London Social Hiking
Sort Code: 20-17-20
Account Number: 63116514

We'll let you know by changing your status to ‘Paid’ as soon as the payment is cleared. You can check your status next to your name in the attendees list of the event.

THE PRICE INCLUDES

• Transport throughout the trip
• Experienced IAM/RoSPA qualified driver
• Professional event organisation
• Guiding by an experienced Lowland Leader
• Group first aid kit with qualified first aiders
• Admin fee
• 20% VAT

HOW TO CONTACT US

For all enquiries, please PM our admin (one of the hosts of the event) via Meetup. If you have any difficulties locating the starting point, or need help during the trip, please call Alexey on 07414020396. Please DO NOT contact our hike leaders during the week.

JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

This is where we share pictures from our events. Feel free to use for inspiration on where to go next!

Facebook group link and Instagram

WHAT TO BRING

• Suitable hiking shoes with ankle support
• Waterproof and windproof jacket and trousers
• Gloves/hat/cap
• Water (min 1L)
• Packed lunch (optional)
• Walking poles (optional)
• Gaiters (optional)

That’s it – we'll take care of the rest, so just turn up and have a great day! 😊

You can check the refund policy here.