Symonds Yat - River Wye

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Grid Reference: SO 561 159

https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/dbimgs/Symonds%20Yat%20Walk.pdf

Duration: 1.5 hours

Distance: 2.5 miles

You begin with something unusual by crossing the river not by bridge but by hand-pulled ferry beside the Saracen's Head Inn Ferry. It feels wonderfully old-fashioned and is only a short trip, but enough to shift your mindset from arriving to exploring. The River Wye here performs one of its well-known geographical tricks looping dramatically through the landscape, travelling miles while barely progressing toward the sea.

This was a wonderfully calm and cool start to the walk. Our fellow travellers on the ferry were from New Zealand, and our paths crossed a few times in the early part of the walk as we worked that many ways meet and cross. 

There is a plaque on the wall by the ferry landing that celebrates the ‘singing ferryman’, which refers to the late Andy Gardiner, a beloved local figure who worked the ancient hand-pulled cable ferry on the River Wye. He was widely known for singing to his passengers as he pulled the boat across the water, bringing joy to visitors before his passing in 2010.

On the other side we ascended through woodland before joining a mostly flat path for the rest of the walk on this side of the river.

This is a walk that wins in a quieter way taking you through water and woodland giving that peculiar feeling that you are moving through somewhere that has barely changed. 

The path continues through woodland toward Biblins, operated by the Woodcraft Folk, this back-to-basics eco-campsite is heavily geared toward youth groups, Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, and outdoor learning.

Then comes one of the highlights of the walk, the suspension bridge.

It appears almost unexpectedly; a narrow footbridge stretched across the river. 

Crossing it gives a brief sensation of almost floating above the Wye, as well as many photographic opportunities, it marks the turning point of the walk. Although it is hard not to linger as you look down and around from the central span.

Continuing on the river gathers energy and the rapids come into view through the trees, with white water tumbling featuring brightly coloured canoes threading through the current, a lesson in progress as we passed by. 

A few random facts about the walk:

• The River Wye flows roughly 150 miles from the Welsh mountains to the Severn Estuary, forming much of the border between England and Wales
• Celebrated as one of the UK's most scenic and ecologically important waterways, it offers a rich mix of geography, wildlife, and history, and is the fourth longest river in the UK
• Robert Symonds gave his name to Symonds Yat during the 17th-century. Symonds was a sheriff of Herefordshire, and the word ‘Yat’ is an old word for a gate or pass
• The river features iconic, sweeping meanders, with the dramatic loop at Symonds Yat being one of its most famous and photographed landmarks
• In 1782, the Rev. William Gilpin published Observations on the River Wye, it was the first illustrated travel guidebook in Britain, prompting eager travellers to navigate the river to view romantic ruins and striking natural scenery
• Local inns provided specialised boats and rowers, turning the river into a bustling excursion route that accommodated crowds of early sightseers
• Romantic artists and writers, including J. M. W. Turner and William Wordsworth, subsequently visited the area to capture its stunning landscape

A final last walk brought us through the car park and down to the Saracens Head pub, where a most welcome refreshing pint of something was the order of the day, followed by sandwiches to replenish us.

Having decided, due to the extreme heat (for the UK) at 35C (95F) to only complete a short walk that day there are many longer and fascinating walks in this area https://www.forestryengland.uk/sites