WYEVALLEY,WELSHBORDER
AFTERMONTHSPEERINGoutthrough
a mistingvisorata landscapelimited
tobrown,greyandbeige,the
countrysideiscomingaliveonce
again.Crispyellowfieldsofrapeseed,
brightbluespringskiesand,most
welcomeofall,thelushreturnofrich
greenvegetationframingtheroad.
Ifyou’resavingyouryear’sbigride
— perhapsoneofthedestinationsin
oursports-touringspecial(p32)— for
theheightofsummer,youmightbe
lookingforsomewherecloserto
hometostartbuildingthemilesback
up.TheWyeValley,straddlingthe
borderbetweenWalesandEngland,
isa perfectstartingpoint.
It’stheoriginaldon’t-miss
destinationforBritishtravellersasfar
backasthe18thcentury.Whilethe
NapoleonicWars madetravelto
continentalEuropea bittricky,it was
considereda substituteforthose
whowereunabletoembarkonthe
epicGrandTour.It’sthebirthplaceof
thestaycation,andperhapsthe
entireBritishtourismindustry.
YoucanpickuptheRiverWyeas
farnorthasmid-Wales,tracingthe
A47 0 downthroughRhayaderand
BuilthWells,buttheValleyofficially
beginsjustsouthofHereford.There’s
loadstoexplore,fromnature
reservestomagnificentruins
(GoodrichCastleandTinternAbbey
tonametwo)orjustsoakinginthe
area’slegendarybucolicbeauty.
Andtheriding?ThisistheA466,
headingfromMonmouthdownto
Chepstow.Yes,therearespeed
camerasanddouble-whitelines,but
wepromisetheydon’tdetractfrom
theroad’s relaxed,rollingromp
alongsidetheriver.It’schilledbut
neverdull– andthere’snoshortage
ofthatmuch-missed,gorgeousgreen
scenery.Welcomeback.
WHEN TO GO Now — come on, what are you
waiting for? Leave it until summer and it’ll only
get busy with coaches full of wrinklies who
bought a holiday out the back of a broadsheet.
HOW TO GET THERE Whether heading west
from the Cotswolds or east from the Brecon
Beacons, the A40 will land you in Ross-on-Wye.
WHERE TO STAY There’s plenty of hotels,
B&Bs and pubs between Ross and Monmouth,
especially right along the River Wye.
WHERE TO RIDE Try the B4234 (Ross to
Cannop), B4293 (Monmouth to Chepstow) or
B4235 (Chepstow to Gaerllwyd). For some top
local tips, check out the Wye Valley Motorcycle
Club (wyevalleymotorcycleclub.co.uk) who
meet for a ride-out every Tuesday evening.
YOUR NEXT GREAT RIDE
51 .669187,-2.
YOUR MONTHLY GUIDE TO
GREAT TIMES ON TWO WHEELS
12 | JULY 2019
