Chepstow Walking Festival celebrates 10th anniversary of the Wales Coast Path

The Wales Coast Path features highly in the Chepstow Walking Festival which takes place 20-24 April 2022. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of this route (which starts or finishes at Chepstow), a number of the Festival’s guided walks include sections of the Wales Coast Path – so there’ll be an abundance of spectacular views across the Severn Estuary. 2022 is also the tenth anniversary of Chepstow becoming an accredited Walkers are Welcome town, so the locals are very well versed in providing everything walkers need.

_{(The Wales Coast Path near Chepstow, overlooking the Severn Bridge)}

On the Caldicot and Pwllmeyric Circular (Walk 7), a stretch of the Wales Coast Path is combined with Monmouthshire’s varied heritage including an iron age hill fort, an abandoned village, a Roman encampment, two medieval castles, and three ancient chapels.

_{(Matt & Kit brewing at Wye Valley Meadery)}

If you enjoy a tipple, there’s a splendid walk starting at Black Rock, which includes a tour of Wye Valley Meadery - Ultimate Engineering with a Sting in the Tale (Walk 11). The two brothers behind Wye Valley Meadery, Matt and Kit Newell, have taken the ancient, strong, sweet drink and given it a modern twist. Find out how, using modern brewing techniques, they produce a light, refreshing mead, from honey collected from beehives dotted across the Wye Valley.

_{(Newport Transporter Bridge)}

For a particularly impressive view of the Severn Estuary, book a place on Walk 16 - Hayne’s Hop-Over. It’s a short vertical loop across the top walkway of the iconic Newport Transporter Bridge. Designed by engineer Robert Haynes and opened in 1906, this magnificent structure is one of only six operational transporter bridges left in the world. You’ll cross back over the river Usk aboard the bridge’s gondola.

Once you’ve sampled the Wales Coast Path, you might be tempted to explore a longer section of it, or even saunter along the entire 870 miles (1.400 km) and get a personalised certificate to prove it! If you combine it with the 177 mile (285 km) Offa's Dyke Path National Trail along the Welsh-English border, you can do a complete circuit of the perimeter of Wales. A new edition of the guidebook Walking the Wales Coast Path by Paddy Dillon is published by Cicerone on 15 April 2022.

_{(Offa's Dyke Path above Bigsweir Bridge in the Wye Valley © Molyneux Associates)}

Many of the walks in this year’s Festival are led by people who are passionate about sharing their specialist knowledge, as well as enjoying a good walk. Rob Dingle, National Trail Officer for the Offa’s Dyke Path, leads a circular walk through beautiful beech woods in Walk 4. Local expert Tim Ryan takes you on a town trail around Chepstow (Walk 27), and shares his passion for the Severn Princess ferry, currently undergoing restoration. Away from the footpaths, author and mountain leader Kevin Walker is hosting a Map Interpretation Workshop and a presentation about the Nature of the Brecon Beacons. 

Discover fascinating, yet lesser-known, features of the countryside on a number of the guided walks. Walk 26 heads to WWII underground bunkers intended to be used by the local resistance in the event of an invasion. Walk 30 is full of splendour: check out the amazing views towards the Brecon Beacons, and the artistic beauty of the handrail near Cleddon Shoots, made by local blacksmith Ross Smith.

_{(Chepstow Walking Festival outside Chepstow TIC)}

Chepstow attracts walkers all year round, and has been doing so since the birth of tourism in the 18^th century. Some people set out from here on long distance routes, others use the historic town as a base from which to explore the rich heritage and breathtaking scenery of the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

For even more opportunities to enjoy our countryside, check out the full range of walks in Monmouthshire.