Silver Wedding
What a beautiful country we live in. I’ve just got back from a couple of days away on the bike with The Old Dragon and have again been stunned by the wonderful countryside and friendly people you can find in the UK.
We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary so it was important the trip was special. I had the privilege of visiting Symonds Yat in the Wye Valley a couple of years ago, it is a stunningly beautiful and tranquil place. Add to that the marvelous Saracens Head pub and it seemed like a good place to start. Fortunately the Saracens Head has 12 B&B rooms, one of which was duly booked. We set off with the firm intention of avoiding motorways so far as humanly possible and, with the exception of about a mile across the old Severn crossing, we did. The other thing we were determined to do was to take our time. If we wanted to stop, for any reason, we were going too. It was really quite liberating.
The trip from North West Hampshire to Symonds Yat started with a blast along the A342 ◇ A338 up to Swindon. This is one of my favourite routes, especially if the traffic is light and the sun is shining…which it was. The A419/7 isn’t great but it was only 20 miles to get to Cheltenham so I guess we can live with that. From here we take the A40 through gorgeous forested hills towards Ross-on-Wye. It’s an absolute joy cruising with no need to stick to a timetable. If only every trip could be like this.
It is often the case that revisiting a place you enjoyed before can be a disappointment but not Symonds Yat. The pub was excellent, the staff friendly and welcoming and the accommodation clean and comfortable. It proved to be an excellent place to spend the evening. If you’re ever heading for a trip around Wales this is an great place to start from. The landlord is an ex biker and is even considering a Triumph Rocket as a way back in. A walk down the valley is a great experience with awesome scenery and a great sense if peace. We enjoyed the stop-over hugely to say the least, I would recommend it to anybody. Great place, great company.
Day 2
Another place we have always wanted to visit is Cheddar Gorge. The best route from Symonds Yat is down to Chepstow, across the old Severn Bridge and down the coast to the village of Cheddar. Stopping at the services on the England side of the bridge for a coffee we were approached by a chap clad in hi-viz. A conversation began about the bike and he waxed lyrical about it for a good 10 minutes. He wasn’t a biker but was certainly very keen. It was a great interlude that I thoroughly enjoyed and just goes to show how bikes can bring us together, it’s never once happened to me in the car.
The B4228 is a lovely swoopy road with flowing bends that go on for miles. The scenery is stunning and an absolute joy to ride through. Cheddar Gorge is beautiful, a real treasure, but be careful. The road is narrow and car drivers take far too little care around the bends. We were nearly taken out 3 times in the matter of a few miles, and all mid week when the visitor volume was relatively light. Having said that it is somewhere you have to visit at least once.
From here it was an easy run home across Salisbury plain.
We had a great run, met some lovely people saw some beautiful sights and celebrated our silver wedding anniversary in a way that suited us down to the ground. Simple pleasures in the company of my soul mate and genuine honest folk. What more could you ask for, it was perfect, just perfect.