The Day Before Our Second Lockdown

The end of October was wet and windy - but even so the Autumn colours persevered and hung on. Currently the November weather is glorious with wall to wall sunshine all day long. To make the most of it we packed a picnic and drove across the R. Severn and into the forest of Dean. An ancient forest used by the late Anglo Saxon kings, and after 1066, by the Normans, as their personal hunting ground.

Making our way to the edge of the forest and close to where the English/Welsh border meets, we walked up to what is called Symonds Yat Rock - well known for its far reaching views across the Wye Valley.

In the 18th century a boat tour down the Wye was a fashionable alternative to the European Grand Tour. 

Tourist alighted from their boats below Colwell Rocks (seen top right), now an important nesting site for Peregrine Falcons. The lady's wearing typically long dresses of the day, and the men in suits would then tackle the steep climb up to Symonds Yat Rock "where a view of great grandeur displayed itself".

The river resembles a giant snake as it loops around the far end of Symonds Yat Rock. However, Its scenic journey now begins to change from pastoral to more residential as It flows through several tiny hamlets and along the side of the romantic remains of Tintern Abbey. 

The rivers long journey from Wales is now almost complete once it arrives in the ancient town of Chepstow. In Chepstow it will join the mighty R. Severn's estuary flowing out into the Bristol Channel and then into the Atlantic Ocean. 

It was a perfect day - not a cloud in sight,

if only every day resembled this, 

but would we still appreciate perfect days such as this, if they were?

The shocking pink berries are those of the Euonymus europaeus - European spindle tree. It inhabits the edges of forests, hedges and slopes, and tends to thrive best on nutrient rich, chalky and salt-poor soils.

P.S Our very late Indian Summer is still here, and long may it continue.