Two hikes in the Wye Valley

The partly untouched natural landscapes in Wales invite you to go hiking. You can unwind on two beautiful hikes in the Wye Valley.

Hike from Llandogo to Tintern Abbey

South Wales enchants with its incredible landscape, which is best explored on foot. There are small, sleepy villages, lots of sheep and, above all, pure nature.

Start in Llangogo

Our hike starts in Llandogo, a small village between Monmouth and Chepstow in the county of Monmouthshire. The village is situated on a steep slope above the River Wye.

There was a harbor in Llandogo until the 19th century. A river boat (trow) typical of the region was built here. This was used for trade and brought goods as far as Bristol. The church of St. Oudoceus in Llandogo is built of old red sandstone with Bath Stone cladding.

We start our hike in the Wye Valley at the church and first walk across a meadow towards the riverbank. Our destination for the day is Tintern Abbey, but not on the direct route.

First we walk in the opposite direction, as you can clearly see on the map with our hiking route.

It goes along the Wye to the Bigsweir Bridge. The bridge was built in 1827, crosses the river and connects the parish of St. Briavels in Gloucestershire (England) and Llandogo in Monmouthshire (Wales).

There is an old, now unused toll house on the Wales side of the river. The bridge is not particularly wide and traffic is regulated by traffic lights.

Hikes in the Wye Valley: detour to England

So now we are no longer hiking in Wales, but in England. Visually, there is no difference: we are walking along the Wye again, but this time in the direction of Tintern Abbey. However, you shouldn’t expect a real path. We walk across a meadow along a beaten track. In some places, we just follow the trampled grass, open gates in fences or climb over the fences in designated places. To our right, the very brown river flows in an enormous current.

After a while, we discover Llandogo on the other side of the river. The small village nestles gently against the hill. The trees and bushes are still sparsely planted and we can spot a few houses. This will certainly be more difficult in summer.

I like the path. From time to time we walk between the sheep, which are hardly disturbed by us. Eventually we reach a paved road again, which takes us to another bridge over the Wye and we change banks again.

Arrival at Tintern Old Station

Our next destination, Tintern Old Station, is approaching.

Tintern station opened in 1876 and was one of four stations on the Wye Valley Railway line. There was a signal box, sidings, a goods shed and a station building. The station had a total of three platforms. The railroad company had designed Tintern Railway Station to be slightly larger than other stations, as they hoped that the excursion traffic to nearby Tintern Abbey would attract large numbers of passengers.

The investment did not really seem to have paid off. The station was closed to passenger traffic in 1959 and a short time later no more freight trains stopped. In 1964, all traffic on the line ceased and it was closed.

The local district council bought the old station, renovated it and opened a tourist attraction there. Old wagons are still in the station and are used for exhibitions, for example. There is also a tourist information center here today. There is a café, a children’s play area and live music from time to time. A lovely place to enjoy a family break.

Abbey Mill Wye

However, we have another destination for a tea break and move on. A quick look at St. Michael’s Church with its beautiful graveyard and then we head to the Abbey Mill Wye Valley Center.

The former Abbey Mill – the mill of Tintern Abbey – is located directly on the banks of the river. The restored water wheel is still in place and many of the old buildings still stand. You can also see the remains of an old Tudor wharf (typical boats for transporting goods on the Wye).

Today, it is home to a family-run business that has redesigned the area. Small craft and shopping stores invite you to stroll around and a café offers many a delicacy. The café was also our destination, as it not only serves tea, but also scones with clotted cream and jam. Just as you would imagine an English teatime to be. I particularly liked the guest room, which is really cozy. If the weather is nice, you can sit outside the café.

The Abbey Mill has become a popular meeting place and is always well frequented. No doubt many visitors to Tintern Abbey also come here to enjoy a relaxing end to their visit.

Hikes in the Wye Valley – destination Tintern Abbey

For us, however, we went to the former monastery complex of Tintern.

Tintern Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1131. The monastery grounds are located directly on the River Wye. It was the first monastery of this community in Wales. The monks came to Tintern from the monastery of L’Aumône.

The first buildings were completed in 1136. Only the remains of these buildings can still be seen today. The monastery church was finally completed in 1301. It was built in the Gothic style and had a central nave and two side aisles. The cloister and the monks’ accommodation adjoined the church to the north.

In 1349, the plague raged and hit Tintern with a vengeance. Not only did numerous inhabitants of the village die, but many monks also fell victim to the plague. At the beginning of the 15th century, during an uprising in the region, parts of the monastery property were destroyed. The monks tried to compensate for the financial loss by increasing their efforts to cater for pilgrims. They came to the abbey to see a statue that was said to have miraculous powers.

With the establishment of the Anglican state church in the time of Henry VIII, the order had to disband. The monastery was handed over to the crown. The monastery was quite wealthy and all its valuables ended up in the royal treasury. The Earl of Worcester received the buildings. He had the precious lead roof removed and did not put on a replacement roof. The decay of the abbey began.

Over time, the abbey, or rather the ruins of the abbey, fell into oblivion. Tintern Abbey lay isolated in the river valley and it was only when the population’s desire to travel to quiet and almost untouched natural areas increased that the first travelers came to the region. The river valley was regarded as a romantic valley and the abbey ruins quickly became an attraction. In a travel guide published in 1782, the region was still considered an insider tip. Even the English painter Thomas Gainsborough was drawn to Tintern and made pencil sketches.

Tintern Abbey becomes an excursion destination

The owner of the ruins at the time, the Duke of Beaufort, recognized the potential and began to take initial measures to preserve the ruins. In 1901, the British Crown bought the ruins, restored them extensively and elevated them to the status of a listed building. Today, the site is open to visitors for a fee.

We took a look at the really impressive ruins from the outside. I was particularly impressed by the windowless skeleton above the entrance. A very delicate construction for the time and fortunately very well preserved.
There is a nice idea on one of the wooden doors. The silhouette of a monk has been painted here in white paint. This is illuminated in the evening. Then it almost looks as if a “ghost monk” is standing in front of the monastery ruins.

Our hike ended here before Tintern Abbey. A very beautiful route, almost completely flat and easy to walk. From Tintern, we took the bus back to Llandogo.

Hike in the hills around Llandogo

A second hike in the Wye Valley took us into the hilly landscape that stretches behind the village. This route is a little more challenging, as some of it was quite steep uphill and downhill again. In terms of scenery, this tour was completely different, but no less beautiful than the tour to Tintern.

Once again, we initially travelled along the meadows alongside the Wye. This time, however, we stayed on the side of the river that belongs to Wales. After about 4 kilometres, we were drawn away from the banks and into the hills.

Here we continued on very different paths. Some were concrete roads, others unpaved forest paths. The forest paths in particular were steep, but a marvellous hike. Very rarely did we pass a bench, from which we could enjoy a great view over the hills.

On this hike, the signposted paths also led across the animals’ grazing areas. Sometimes this was not so easy, as we had to climb over the fences to follow the path.

We spotted the first snowdrops in the wooded hills and the first bluebells poking their heads out from under the autumn leaves. A few days later there would be large fields of bluebells in the so-called Bluebell Wood.

The hike was wonderful. We didn’t meet a single other person and even spotted a few deer. Pure relaxation for me!

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