Saturday 10 February 2018

Symonds Yat and the Wye Valley

BEFORE YOU START READING - I WANT TO SAY THAT THIS IS A LONG POST. SO MAKE YOURSELF A CUPPA AND SIT BACK AND ENJOY.  AT THE END OF THE POST I HAVE ADDED LINKS TO VARIOUS POINTS MENTIONED AND ALSO A COUPLE OF SHORT VIDEOS, So read on or scroll to the bottom. Whatever you decide, I do hope you enjoy reading this:


A recent trip for a couple of days - we decided on Ross-on-Wye and the Wye Valley.  In fact our hotel was at Symonds Yat - called Royal Lodge.  Take a look at the google street view image below and you will see the hotel across the river, in the middle of the image...




Turned out on arrival at the hotel, our room had been upgraded,
that was a lovely surprise and it overlooked the river.
A spacious room - perfect.

Breakfast the first morning was set up for us in a room adjoining the restaurant due to us having William with us - dogs obviously are not allowed in the restaurant area.
That worked perfectly for us anyway and the staff were very helpful.
I did over indulge with breakfast that first morning though,
a plate of freshly cooked kippers which had followed a warm coissant kept the hunger away for me all day!  









looking back across the river...



and this was from the hotel gardens







Walks here were a must.   There was a pathway along next to the river, so we had to explore...










and came upon this bridge.  Believe me, it really did dip in the middle and was a wobbly bridge at that.

and I'm not sure that William was convinced...but he was a good boy and walked Graham over safely...  I think it was a case of that, rather than William walking Graham safely over, or was it!








Then it was my turn...just as well there weren't another 5 people about, or even less going on the breakfast I had eaten!


if you look real closely, you'll be able to see William watching for me from the other side...




It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Yes it did move quite a lot as I walked over, but that was the fun of it.....(not sure Graham saw the fun side of it though)...





and both Graham and William enjoyed terra firma on the other side...



I reckon if there was a lot of snow, this building would be straight out of the Alps!  (apart for the lack of the overhanging roof)...I knew somebody would say it, so thought I would say it first.




on the way back we happened upon two Fire rescue vehicles


soon explained, as the occupants of said vehicles were receiving some training on the river


they even had a small craft to train in!


On our final day, we decided to trek up the hillside.


Again, a certain lurcher was in front of us.
Shame he had to wait for us to huff and puff our way up.
 Yes it was 
a
STEEP hillside.

We went up to the Symonds Yat Rock 

where the outlook was STUNNING












and, of course, somebody had to pose for a photo

this is the rock he was sitting on -
with a metal work addition showing
what this area looked like hundreds of years ago



Clear blue skies, but in the shade there was actually a heavy frost still



During our stay in the area, I did a couple of sketches



links: 





and here are a couple of videos.....


Walking over another bridge. This time a solid one made of wood that took us up to the Rock:





and this one the ferry boat crossing the river:
(sorry it's a very short video but was all we had time for)





~ IF YOU GOT THIS FAR THROUGH THE BLOG POST WITHOUT FALLING ASLEEP
THEN YOU DID WELL ~

(but hope you enjoyed this post anyway)


🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞









10 comments:

CJ Kennedy said...

My cuppa and I thank you for the trip to the Wye Valley. The scenery and vistas are gorgeous. Imagine how beautiful they must be when everything is green and growing. What I especially love are the blue skies and no snow. A little frost doesn't count. William was very cute sitting for his portrait, too. Well done on your sketches.

Judy said...

I made it to the end, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Gorgeous views! But I'm not sure I would cross that scary bridge though.

Christine said...

It looks so lovely and peaceful there thanks for sharing. Beautiful sketches.

robin cox walsh said...

WOW! It certainly was worth that climb! :) Beautiful country!!

ann @ studiohyde said...

So pleased you enjoyed your virtual visit CJ . We were very lucky with the weather, on our return home it has done nothing but rain!

ann @ studiohyde said...

I sent William and Graham over that bridge first, then I followed...at first carefully...by the time I reached the middle, there was no going back, lol.

ann @ studiohyde said...

Glad you enjoyed the visit Christine πŸ™‚

ann @ studiohyde said...

It certainly was and more beautiful than I had thought, so a win win visit for us.

Eileen H said...

A good breakfast certainly sets you up for the day and you were all brave crossing that bridge, Nothing would have persuaded me to cross it I can tell you :) Gorgeous views, your climb was well worth it. Thanks for sharing.

ann @ studiohyde said...

Thanks Eileen, glad you enjoyed reading this. ... and well done for getting through this blogpost, lol.