Walk this route yourself in 3D!
The Video is a 3D walk through of this route, it will give you a unique sense of having walked through the route before you start.
I have created 3D Videos of my adventures and have shared them with the OutdoorActive community as well as my walking community.
I know it’s February, so just to explain I did this walk in the summer of 2022, didn’t want you thinking we had winters like this in Wales! We absolutely loved this walk and it is 100% better to do this in the summer, as you can have a nice dip in the ‘River Wye‘ as you walk a part of the ‘Wye Valley Walk‘, and you’ll get tree cover in parts to give you shelter from the sun.
There is also so much space so you can take a blanket and a bit of food and relax by the river under a tree, or on the way up via the Offa’s Dyke, or even at The Kymin which we are heading to, it’s a unique walk that has a beautiful river, loads of land, Wye Valley Walk the Offa’s Dyke Path, The Kymin and Monmouth itself!
Getting There: Directions, GPX and App Link
The Hiking app I use to plan the walks and to aslo guide me around is the ‘Outdooractive App‘, which has a free a Pro and a Pro+ version, the Pro version will allow you to download the routes to your phone, and use them without using up your data.
The reason I mention it is that if you were to download a route, they are FREE and you can find this link to this route in my hike listings. You can then follow the arrows and voice on your mobile, as most of these walks are a bit tricky to explain.
- On the A40, you can enter into Monmouth Town centre from a few points, and we make our way to the main car park close to Waitrose.
- Monmouth has loads of places to park, but on a Sunday its almost free in the ‘Cattle Market Car Park’ alongside the bridge close to Waitrose. Google Maps link.
- From the car park I cut through the ‘Chippenham Playing Fields’ and made my way towards the ‘Wye Bridge’ opposite the ‘Monmouth School For Boys’.
Navigation Aids:
- Follow this route on the Outdooractive App, it is FREE, and it will guide you around safely.
- Download my hand crafted *GPX file, and use it on your own guidance devices.
- If you’re not sure what a GPX file is, I have put this post together that will hopefully explain it in plain words. It’s worth considering as well as mobile app navigation, as they will make your hikes better & safer.
Hike Map
Hike Profile
- Distance: 8m / 13km
- Duration: 5 hours
- Highest point: 837ft / 255m
- Difficulty: Moderate (steep climbs up and down), sometimes loose terrain through the woods.
- Route conditions: Well-worn pathways most of the way around, good walking shoes are a must really.
Hike Description & Pics
We started from the ‘Cattle Market Car Park‘ in Monmouth town centre, as on Sundays it’s pretty much free and you also have the opportunity on the way back to walk through the town and have an ice cream, or a bite to eat and drink before heading home, there are lots of shops, and coffee shops and places to eat, and there lots of interesting things in and around the town itself.
So, as we did that on the way back, to start we crossed the road from the car park and walked through the playing fields opposite, heading towards the bottom left corner to walk towards the subway which goes under the A40 to then walk over the Wye Bridge, opposite Monmouth School for Boys.
The starting point is actually at the end of bridge on the other side, where you will see a road head to the right which going to the ‘Monmouth School Sport Pavilion’.
This is where you can pick up the ‘Wye Valley Walk’, we didn’t follow it as we instead followed a parallel path alongside it but closer to the river, much nicer and you do eventually join back up to it a little further down.
I’m very excited from this point on to be able to show you the pics we took around this walk, it felt at times you were walking in the South of France, the day was absolutely glorious, and I know every summer from now on I will be out doing this one for sure, on a really hot summers day, this is the sort of walk you should be looking to do.
Having made your way to the path that runs alongside the river, you can then follow that all the way down via the beaches, and then you will come to a point where you will need to go left up the banking back onto the ‘Wye Valley Walk’ path.
Once back on the path keep going and if you’re lucky you may bump into a local guy and his dog, who walk this path everyday picking up everyone else’s litter, I forget what they’re names are but there is a pic below and they are so nice, and he’ll happily chat to you, and he has also asked me to pass on the message to please take your rubbish home with you.
A bit further along you will walk under an old iron bridge, and the great thing is you are always never far away from the river, and what we did enjoy as it was so hot was being under the tree’s in the shade, but that does end a little further up the path, as you will see a gate that opens up into a beautiful field.
Once through the gate, you walk into a beautiful field and all along the river are clearings and tree’s and beaches, and it is along this bit that you could rest under a tree, watch the swans and ducks in the river or even have a dip in the river to cool off. We did that and there are some pics, but for my own dignity and your mental health I want post the topless pics of me and my walking buddy Richard.
At the end of this field, you will go back into some woods, and follow the path all the way to the end, where you will walk up to the main road (A466), you will then need to walk on the road for a short while, before crossing to go into Redbrook. On your way through the woods there are some really interesting art work left on the tree’s, it was there when we walked through, so I hope it is still there as it was really nice.
The interesting fact is that you have just left the ‘Wye Valley Walk’ and having turned into Redbrook and walked up the road, you have then joined the ‘Offa’s Dyke Path’, which after you go under the bridge and walk up the road a short distance, turns off to the left following a dirt track up to ‘Jamie’s Farm, Monmouth‘, which is fantastic place to visit, especially for the children.
Once you walk past the farm, you just continue up the dirt road, and at a certain point you will see the sign for the ‘Offa’s Dyke Path’ that will take you to the right through the field. There are some really nice tree’s to rest under and get out of the sun, but you are now only a short distance from arriving at ‘The Kymin’, the focal point of the walk.
Once there, you have a view of Monmouth beneath you, the Sugar Loaf and the Blorenge in the distance, and the River Wye below, it’s absolutely beautiful.
Once you are ready to make your way down, the ‘Offa’s Dyke Path’ will take you down the other side you came up from and into Monmouth back over the bridge. The path down starts to the left of The Kymin building, and you will see the Offa sign, follow that all the way down, passing by some beautiful homes and gardens and you will then pop out on the road, where you turn left and head towards the main bridge past Aldi.
Instead of walking back through the playing fields to the car, we walked through the town and had a coffee and cake, and had a look around the shops.
We loved this walk, it’s one to do in the summer for sure.
That’s it, you’re all done, back at the car and hopefully the weather has been good, and you have had a great experience.
It is worth downloading this route onto your outdooractive app, it’ll re-assure you time wise and that you’re not heading in the wrong directions. There is so much space up there and lots of alternative paths you could accidently join.
Hope you enjoy this walk, and I’d love it if you could share this post either with the social media buttons that follow you down the screen on your left, or below in the footer. Also, comments are very welcome, I love meeting new people and talking and you never know we could meet up on one of our walks.
Fundraising for CALM, they do save lives!
Do you want to join me in making a difference? I’m raising money in aid of Campaign Against Living Miserably and every donation will help. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause which means so much to me.
More information about Campaign Against Living Miserably: Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is leading a movement against suicide. Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives. And 75% of all UK suicides are male.
CALM exists to change this. Join the campaign to take a stand against suicide.
Please donate an amount you can afford, everything helps these poor people.
I have raised £572 so far, and I will keep trying to raise more.