Wye Valley Walk

Wye Valley Walk
Wye Valley Walk
	Part of the Wye Valley Walk following the former Lydbrook Junction to Monmouth Railway
Length	219 km (136 mi)
Designation	Long-distance trail
Trailheads	Chepstow ; Plynlimon
Use	Hiking
Highest point	Plynlimon, 752 m (2,467 ft)
Season	All year

The Wye Valley Walk (Welsh: Llwybr Dyffryn Gwy) is a long distance footpath in Wales and England following the course of the River Wye.

History

In 1975 the Wye Valley Walk opened with a 14-mile (23 km) stretch between St. Arvans and Monmouth.^[1] Further stretches were added, leading to it becoming a 34-mile (55 km) footpath by 1981.^[1] During the 1980s, gaps between Ross-on-Wye, Hay-on-Wye and Rhayader were integrated into the pathway, forming a 112-mile (180 km) walk reaching from near the river's mouth at Chepstow in Monmouthshire, to Rhayader in Mid Wales.^[1]

In September 2002, the route was finally extended to start or finish in Coed Hafren, having passed within viewing distance of the source of the River Wye on Plynlimon near Aberystwyth, a total of 136 miles (219 km).^[1]

The route

The Wye Valley Walk is marked out by circular yellow waymark arrows, finger posts, and signs showing the path's logo, a leaping salmon. Most of the route follows Public Rights of Way. Some parts are permissive paths where owners have agreed for them to be used. Parts of Plynlimon are open countryside in which there is a right to roam established by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.^[2]

The route passes through Chepstow, the Wye Valley AONB, Tintern, Monmouth, Ross-on-Wye, Symonds Yat, Hereford, Hay-on-Wye, Builth Wells, Rhayader, and Llangurig to Plynlimon.

The route of the Wye Valley Walk can be broken into 17 stages,^[3] though the entire walk is often walked in seven day-length sections from Chepstow to Plynlimon, or vice versa.^[4]

Days and sections

Days and sections* described in the text The Wye Valley Walk, and The Wye Valley Walk website, both by The Wye Valley Partnership.^[3]^[4]

Day 1

Section 1: Chepstow Castle to Tintern Abbey – 6 miles (10 km)
Section 2: Tintern Abbey to Monmouth – 10 miles (16 km)

Day 2

Section 1: Monmouth to Symonds Yat – 6 miles (10 km)
Section 2: Symonds Yat to Kerne Bridge – 8 miles (13 km)
Section 3: Kerne Bridge to Ross-on-Wye – 6 miles (10 km)

Day 3

Section 1: Ross-on-Wye to Fownhope – 11 miles (18 km)
Section 2: Fownhope to Hereford – 7 miles (11 km)

Day 4

Section 1: Hereford to Byford – 10 miles (16 km)
Section 2: Byford to Bredwardine – 5 miles (8 km)
Section 3: Bredwardine to Hay-on-Wye – 9 miles (14 km)

Day 5

Section 1: Hay-on-Wye to Glasbury – 5 miles (8 km)
Section 2: Glasbury to Erwood – 9 miles (14 km)
Section 3: Erwood to Builth Wells – 7 miles (11 km)

Day 6

Section 1: Builth Wells to Newbridge-on-Wye – 7 miles (11 km)
Section 2: Newbridge-on-Wye to Rhayader – 10 miles (16 km)

Day 7

Section 1: Rhayader to Llangurig – 12 miles (19 km)
Section 2: Llangurig to Rhyd-y-benwch (Plynlimon) – 12 miles (19 km)

_{*miles and km rounded to whole numbers}

Landmarks

The Wye Valley Walk passes the following notable landmarks:

Rail access

The following stations have services provided by Transport for Wales which can be used to connect with the Wye Valley Walk:

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Wye Valley Walk Partnership (2011). The Wye Valley Walk. Cicerone. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-85284-625-1.
^ The Wye Valley Walk: The essentials. Retrieved 12 April 2014
^ ^a ^b Wye Valley Partnership (2011). The Wye Valley Walk. Cicerone. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-85284-625-1.
^ ^a ^b "Wye Valley Walk Interactive Maps". The Wye Valley Walk Partnership. Retrieved 3 April 2014.

[Wye_Valley_Book-1] Wye Valley Walk Partnership (2011). The Wye Valley Walk. Cicerone. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-85284-625-1.

[essentials-2] The Wye Valley Walk: The essentials. Retrieved 12 April 2014

[Wye_Valley_Book_Contents-3] Wye Valley Partnership (2011). The Wye Valley Walk. Cicerone. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-85284-625-1.

[Wye_Valley_Walk_Interactive_Maps-4] "Wye Valley Walk Interactive Maps". The Wye Valley Walk Partnership. Retrieved 3 April 2014.

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Scotland's Great Trails	Annandale Way Arran Coastal Way Ayrshire Coastal Path Berwickshire Coastal Path Borders Abbeys Way Cateran Trail Clyde Walkway Cross Borders Drove Road Dava Way Fife Coastal Path Formartine and Buchan Way Forth-Clyde/Union Canal Towpath Great Glen Canoe Trail Great Glen Way Great Trossachs Path John Muir Way Kintyre Way Loch Lomond and Cowal Way Moray Coast Trail Mull of Galloway Trail River Ayr Way Rob Roy Way Romans and Reivers Route St Cuthbert's Way Southern Upland Way Speyside Way Three Lochs Way West Highland Way West Island Way
Long-distance path (Northern Ireland)	Ulster Way