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Hi - we've got a few days away in the FoD/Wye Valley area. Lovely. Looking forward to it.
So, if I may draw on the collective experiences and wisdom of those local/familiar with the area... where to go (or avoid!) and what to (or not!) do? TIA.
FoD MTBing: where to base/park and best trails (blue/red) to ride?
Road riding: quiet lanes/cycle paths etc.
River Wye: SUPing/Kayaking etc. - where/which company/recommendations...
Walking: landmarks, views, routes, places of local significance.
Coffee houses: as in, a proper top notch flat white. And cake.
Pubs/restaurants/cafes: Reasonable-ish price but really good.
Which local beverage? Where from?
Which local food? Where from?
A 'day out': anything memorable e.g. an outstanding experience or something with local historical/cultural significance?
Not that I like to plan things.
Any other suggestions? Massive thanks, in advance. We really do appreciate it.
Phil & Co.
Pubs:
Saracen’s Head at Symonds Yat East (for location on Wye, decent beer and grub but can get v busy) Directly from here you can (light gravel) ride to visit Monmouth and back along old railway line path (Peregrine Trail) or climb up trails to Yat Rock and look for peregrines nesting/classic viewpoint
Yew Tree at Peterstow (for non-nonsense cider-tasting, Sunday Lunches, good craic, near Ross on Wye market town both worth a visit )
Yew Tree at Preston on Wye (for Gwatkins cider on pump, boules court, just a short stroll from Byecross Campsite and kayaking (Byecross also have wood-fired pizza some nights and bottled beers/ciders etc)
Road riding don’t know much about the Forest itself but is all good on the South side of the Wye there’s a nice loop IIRC from Hay to Dorstone, Peterchurch, Vowchurch, Clehonger, Madley, Preston On Wye, Moccas, back to Hay.
Or if parked up at Ross then head down lane nr Sellack towards The Cottage Of Content pub along the Wye plan a loop on little lanes. River is shallow and pretty near Sellack Church for a picnic in the meadow by victorian footbridge
The blue and red at Cannop are decent enough, and parking at the cycle centre is a good way to do it- there's other places around that you could park more cheaply but this puts you right at the trailhead, cafe, etc.
But it's the dh trails that really make the place shine imo- there's some trickier/bigger stuff but for the most part they're pretty accessible and tons of fun. Depends a bit on your group of course.
Lots of the canoe companies do 1/2 or full day trips where they take you upstream and you paddle down to Symonds yat for example.
It's an absolutely stunning river valley and you can gaze up at the birds way below Yat rock.
We did a half day, Kerne bridge to Symonds Yat. You could do this on sups but would have to sort a shuttle. Kenny's taxis, or Pops bus.
Park at Pedalabikeaway and ride the trail centre if you've not been before. They've recently reopened a blue trail that's lots of fun. There's a nice low level family cycle route too.
Bit of shopping? My other half absolutely loves Bailey's home, which is about half a mile up the road away from Ross on the Ross on Wye roundabout.
Thanks @Northwind & @kayak23 - some good leads there, appreciate it 👍🏻
Hoping to see the Peregrine's @ Symonds - find watching Birds of Prey mesmerising 😲 Majestic.
Anything else, folks?
Hay on Wye is a lovely town to toddle around.
Canoe companies - 'want to canoe' canoehire.co.uk is very professional and will guide or let you out on your own.
We used Wyecanoes.com a few weeks ago. Friendly and give a mini bus pick as does the other company.
Some of the trails in the forest are well sign posted. There is the Forest of Dean sculpture trail, also an RSPB nature reserve at Nags head (only one hide open atm).
Canoe/SUP: Best Section is Symonds Yat down to Monmouth and then on to Redbrook. A bit more interesting than Kerne bridge to the Yat.
MTB: As others have said, you can't go wrong starting at Cannop. If you want something a bit quieter than you can't beat the Welsh side of the valley. The trails are fantastic at the moment and I rarely meet anybody.
Coffee: The filling station Tintern. Queue up with the roadies. Only open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday
Culture and history: Head over to Wye Valley Guides scroll down to the bottom and download one of the guides. The Angiddy valley has a fascinating history and the walk starts in Tintern.
Pubs and Beer. The Boat at Redbrook. The Pub is in Wales, so cross the old railway bridge to get there. Rose and Crown Tintern, locals pub, and if you don't mind the traffic the tables next to the river give you a chance of spotting the Otters and if you're very lucky maybe a seal. Fountain Inn Trellech Grange. Best food in the area by miles.
Hard to beat a pint of Butty, but Kingstone brewery do some good beer. He was doing Pizza nights and brewery visits at one time.
PM if you want any more info
For bike route planning I've found the map linked to below very useful. Marked as sold out on the website but may be elsewhere (we bought our copy at the bike hire shop at Cannop a couple of years ago).
http://cyclingguides.com/
Monmouth is good for general shopping and the some tourist shopping.
Pubs have all changes since I went to school there as one that got mentioned in a Guardian tourist review used to be where the 'tough' lads at school went to buy their drugs.
The Boat at Redbrook (now reasserting the fact that it is on the other side of the river by calling itself the Boat at Penallt) was always a good pub. The Lion at Trellech (or Trelleck if you prefer that spelling) is my parents local. Good pub food, sign outside describes it as a 'man creche' and has occasional cider festivals.
Yes it's in Wales but good trails there from the Forest over Trellech Beacon (where there definitely be dragons cross tha river) and it's downhill back so cider in the pub for lunch no problem.
http://lioninn.co.uk/
Wye valley walk is good. Walk from Tintern to Devils Pulpit for a stroll or the 365 steps at Wyndcliffe.
http://www.starvanscouncil.co.uk/St-Arvans-CC/_Giants_Cave_and_365_Steps_15687.aspx
Sorry not much bike stuff and mainly across the river but I've explored the other side less.
Wow - that's amazing. Loads to check out, there 👉🏻 Huge thank you 🙌🏻 Appreciate it.
Any other must see's / do's? 🙏🏻👍🏻
Obviously a bit cheesy/touristy but if you do head to symonds yat,make the effort to see the viewpoint at yat rock. If you go to the saracens head pub I'd seriously avoid driving to it, utter bedlam on a weekend. There's steps from behind the pub that go right up to yat rock.
https://www.forestofdeanadventuregolf.co.uk/ If you have kids then this is a good way to pass a couple of hours
This is a bit mad. Tour of a coal mine. I really enjoyed it as did the kids
Out of interest where are you staying (don't go into details on a public forum, just nearest town)
Puzzlewood is cool and worth a visit
As above, parking for Saracen's Head is a nightmare at weekends unless you get there early and make it a base to walk from. Best to either park at Yat Rock and walk down or park on the Doward, make a walk of it down past Slippery Jem's caves, over Biblins Bridge and down to the pub that way, then hand ferry back across the river and back up to where you parked.
If you fancy splashing out a little on your last evening, then The Stonemill restaurant near Rockfield (just north west of Monmouth) is fantastic. https://www.thestonemill.co.uk/
A friends brother runs Wye Adventures Ltd , they offer several activities and have a great reputation.
Book a day with Chris Porter and see what you can learn about bike set up while trying to resist buying a Geometron?
If you're thinking of going tp Puzzlewood the The Miners Sling is worth a visit. You'd be advised to book in advance, we went and they couldn't fit us in and we had to call again TWICE before they had space. Food was EXCELLENT - limited menu as they serve fresh local food in season (wall mostly local. Loch Fyne langoustines are not exactly close...)