Offa-long the Dyke #1: getting there

“I reckon this is going to be the next big thing in multi-day hiking.”

“It’s a great way to see a part of the country we don’t know.”

“It will be pretty easy walking every day.”

“You’ll love it.”

This was the quadruple mantra I kept repeating to my sister before we hit the Offa’s Dyke Path (aka ODP) this August - while keeping my fingers crossed that it would all work out.

As my marriage unravelled, my limited remaining energy went on stitching together four days of hiking along the Marches of the Welsh/English border with my dear sister novice-hiker Caro. I planned how we would get in and out of the hike, our accommodation each night, getting our big bags from place to place while we walked, and where we would walk. I was also in charge of map reading and navigation - a big challenge for someone who struggles to find North/South, left/right (and even up/down on a bad day).

What could possibly go wrong?

Four days?

The whole ODP takes around 14 days Chepstow - Prestatyn but I didn’t think it was wise to make Caro walk more because I wanted her to enjoy the new experience. Four days is a good multi-day hike: enough time to get into the swing of back-to-back hiking and stop while you are still enjoying it. Plus we had a lot of other fun times to fit into our holiday!

August is a busy holiday time in the UK, and it’s a popular time to be on the ODP and other long-distance paths. I booked accommodation and luggge transfers ahead using the resources I recommend elsewhere, but mostly using the email addresses on the Offa’s Dyke website.

Hint: I booked us to start on a Monday so that the path was less busy with walkers, and the accommodation and transfers easier to book.

Four stops?

We picked to walk from Monmouth to Knighton because this section is the prettiest; the villages and towns are charming and quaint and worth visiting on their own account. 

Starting north of Chepstow skipped a couple of days in the Wye Valley but the ‘official’ marker stone at Chepstow is an underwhelming place to start or finish a long hike so I definitely not recommend making that your big finish, it is much more of a low key start place. 

Hint: Walking from south to north worked out well in the hottest UK summer in 40 years - we never had to walk into the sun, and the breeze (and occasional rain) was behind us all the way. 

Four bags?

Each of us carried a day backpack but there was no way I was going make Caro abandon her makeup and shoes and clothes and hair dryer and kitchen sink. So we each had a big bag to meet us every night. (Take no notice of what I say about my big sister, this is her little sister’s version after all.)

Unlike the Coast to Coast Path, there isn’t a regular bag carrying service unless you are on a package tour so you have to arrange luggage transfers with your accommodation or book a taxi directly. Most taxi companies only operate locally so I couldn’t find one taxi company to manage the whole transfer process. 

Hint: This is an expensive part of the trip, transfers cost upwards of 25 pounds per shift(!) so make sure you are getting the best possible deal by ringing around or just carry all your gear with you.

I recommend Peter from Knighton Taxis (01547 528165) who did two transfers and a lift back to our start to get the car all for one price. You often have to ring people, even if booking from overseas, because they aren’t big on email.

Getting there and away

Clever Caro found the Mayhill Hotel right on the ODP in Monmouth that we could stay in at the start and leave our car. 

We toddled down to Monmouth on the backroads via Lydney Harbour (it has a view of a big bridge and no parking - apart from that and an initial consonant, it has no resemblance to Sydney Harbour). 
We dropped by the aforesaid underwhelming ODP start south of Chepstow but at least we walked a good 50 metres along the Dyke (with in your face cows) - little did we know that this would be the last we saw of the eponymous earthwork for almost a week. 
Our big day out finished in glorious evening light in the poetic ruins of Tintern Abbey, beloved of romantic poets and artists, high above the Wye Valley and a memorable scene of our early childhood on a failed family day trip to Symonds Yat. 
We are the last custodians of some very strange joint memories; but on this trip, we aimed to make more indelible and hopefully less traumatic experiences.

All set to sample the ODP?