Along the canal from Foxton Locks

Wednesday 13 April. With Harry, Esther and Joseph in the buggy.  6.37 miles according to the new toy, at an average speed of 2 miles per hour - strolling,, taking pics etc

Chilly wind day.  Large amount of cheese in the ploughman's at Foxton Locks Inn!

Fineshade - Wakerley Woods - Fineshade

Friday 1 April.  With Esther, who had 9-month-old Joseph in the back carrier - quite a weight.  Along the Jurassic Way. One of my favourite very short walks which includes a fair amount of up and down, several stiles, woodland and open countryside. Goes across a field on the road up to Top Lodge, thorugh woodland, then pasture fields past Fineshade Abbey Stables and down to the main road. Fineshade Abbey's main building was demolished in 1956. Some of the history can be read here. Only downside is the need to cross the A43.
The path continues on the other side, leading towards Laxton Hall.  After a hundred yards or so, at the field boundary, turn right - the path is clearly marked crossing another stile, and another field, then over yet another stile into Wakerley Woods. The walk takes about one and a half hours - a good one at bluebell time, or on a summer evening.  Cafe at Fineshade Top Lodge, though it closes at 4pm in winter.

Doward Farm to King Arthur's Cave.

Saturday 5 March 2011 - Leigh and Rita with dogs, Dan and Sara with Isaac and Rose, Chloé and Darren with Finn, Esther and Adrian with Joseph, Sharon and Mick, and me.
Followed along the road for a good way by Camilla the cat.

So - turned right along the road from the farm, past the byway to Pentumpkin and the narrow footpath on the left, past a cottage with chickens, and through a gate. We followed the path and probably ended up at King Arthur's cave, eventually turning past a disused quarry, before coming out near the road to a youth campsite and back to the road. 

Leigh and Rita made it down to the river, but we were a little warier with the kids, and a little unsure of map-reading among the trees! 

Redbrook - Penallt and back with small children.

Sunday 6 March 2011

From Redbrook near Monmouth to Penallt We parked in a large car park, but to get to the Boat Inn we had to cross the river Wye on an iron footbridge next to the old viaduct. We followed a flat path by the river, then up a steep waymarked path which eventually came out near Penallt old church. We took the small road back down the hill past a large stone labelled the coffin stone.

An interesting alternative local name for the stone is 'The Coffin Stone', and local tradition states that funeral processions on the way to Penallt Old Church used to pause at the spot and rest the coffin on the stone. An additional roadside 'coffin stone' can be found a little further north on the same road. Interestingly Penallt Church formerly acted as a chapel-of-ease to St Nicholas in Trellech until Penallt became a separate parish in 1887.

Since we had a six-year-old and a five-year-old walking with us and one 17 month-old on mum's or dad's back, progress was fairly slow, and we cut the 5 km walk even shorter in order to get back to the holiday house for lunch.