Symonds Yat

Wednesday
Today we went to the well known beauty spot of Symonds Yat on the River Wye. We parked up top, near the view point, then walked down to the river and walked some of the Wye valley way in the direction of Monmouth. The River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK, stretching some 134 mi from source to sea. The lower part of the valley is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The source of the Wye is in the Welsh mountains at Plynlimon. It flows through or past several towns and villages including Rhayader, Builth Wells, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford (the only city on the River Wye), Ross-on-Wye, Symonds Yat, Monmouth and Tintern, joining the Severn estuary just below Chepstow. The lower 16 miles of the river from Redbrook to Chepstow forms the border between England and Wales. As we were walking along the river, we were watching a group of school kids canoeing down the river, one of them having managing to overturn their canoe. Having returned to Symonds Yat, we enjoyed a lovely pub lunch, sitting outside in the sunshine, overlooking the river. We needed this to fortify us for the steep climb back up the hill to the car park! Before heading back to my sister's, we went for a wander around Ross on Rye, but found it somewhat disappointing, other than the lovely stone market hall.