Chepstow with Paul and Kate

 A chance meeting on a train to Tenbytwo years ago has resulted in a lasting friendship with Paul and Kate in Chepstow. I will never forget the moment as we left the train and he ran after me with contact details, should I wish to visit in the future, so unexpected and so generous.

I am pleased to say they don’t appear to regret this, despite my visiting them twice and them visiting me last year in Llantwit major. It was a tremendous chance meeting on the Tenby train.

Chepstow is such a picturesque town and Paul was keen for rest and relaxation this weekend, and that’s exactly what we all thoroughly enjoyed. The pubs by the Wye River are all beautifully located, and in the short time we were at the Riverside bar and restaurant, we had firsthand experience of the incredibly swift change of tides - actually the second fastest change of tides in the World!
It was a fabulous atmosphere, with almost as many canine patrons as human ones, Isn’t it great that you can wander down to your local with your dog or dogs. 
Kate was away Friday, so Paul and I enjoyed catching up on news from the past year, whilst tucking into our truly delicious meals . Looking at the thick piece of fresh fish Paul had, I already knew what I would eat the next day.
High tide already
The very attractive bridge linking Wales, Chepstow, to England is undergoing repairs and only open to foot traffic. Of course, when it was built at the end of the 19 th century, they would never have imagined how much traffic would one day be crossing it.
With Kate back, we headed off for the day into the Wye Valley, with first stop Tintern Abbey.  Even as ruins it is a majestic building, so it must have been an awesome sight in its heyday.
Before stopping for lunch, we popped in to see the recently restored Tintern station, now with cafe and model railway and a couple of old carriages telling the history of the Wye Valley railway.
As the usual route to the Boat inn pub was closed, we took an unbelievably narrow lane, with extremely overgrown hedgerows, making it impossible to tell what might be coming in the opposite direction. I wouldn’t have coped at all well, but Paul took it in his stride!
The lanes were stunningly beautiful and so lush despite the very hot weeks we’ve just had.
The bridge by the pub was the original railway bridge, now only used by pedestrians getting from the car park on the other side to the pub.
The views  in every direction are breathtakingly beautiful.
Food and drink throughout the weekend were fantastic. We didn’t actually overeat, but simply savoured good quality, yet simple food. The fish I had decided to have already the previous evening was every bit as delicious as I had imagined!
The musicians on both nights were very good, but the second night was particularly good and eventually we all got up dancing. Such a fabulous night.
And so the weekend in Chepstow was over. It was so good to catch up with friends and see more of this very pretty and less visited area of Wales.






 










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