On Thursday we arrived at Bracelands Camping in the Forest site in the Forest of Dean. It is a very pretty site situated in the middle of the forest on quite a sloping piece of land, but it is very quiet and ideally situated for exploring the local area. The many signs warning of the wild boar were a bit of a concern and we reckon that the site would be hell on earth when rammed full during the summer. We had a quick wander around the area to get our bearings, popping into an outdoor shop where we chatted with the owners for a long while. It was a taste of the friendliness and hospitality of this area.
On Friday we set out to walk to Symonds Yat Rock, going cross country through the forest. Unfortunately there were a number of fallen trees blocking the trails so the route had a number of detours and a bit of steep hill cross country work. However we soon arrived at the rock and enjoyed the lovely views. We had previously asked if we could watch the Quins v Northampton game on TV in the local Rugby club that evening, so we got back to the van, cleaned up and went into the Globe Pub for dinner. What a bargain! What a great Pub! A real, local, reasonably priced, friendly pub and highly recommended. The pub has a large mural painted on one exterior wall depicting a scene from the BBC series "The Singing Detective". We were told that the playwright, Dennis Potter, was a local lad, hence the connection. Onto the Rugby club to watch the very disappointing game, but we were warmly welcomed and met some lovely people in there.
On Saturday the weather was atrocious, but the very kind people of the rugby club had invited us to their supporters' lunch and to watch the 6 nations games being screened there that afternoon. A delightful day was spent in their company, watching the local team and then the 6 Nations. A great club and great people - we learnt an awful lot about the Forest of Dean from a day spent in their company.
On Sunday the weather had improved, so we walked along the River Wye, back over Symonds Yat Rock and back to the site before going to the Rugby Club to watch Italy v England.
On Monday we walked the long trek into Monmouth, had a very average lunch in Wetherspoons and then decided to get a bus back as we were running out of daylight. The bus ran very infrequently so we were stuck in Monmouth for quite a while. Not a bad town, but we found the inhabitants somewhat unfriendly. We couldn't wait to get back to England!
Our final morning was a leisurely affair with a slow pack up and a nice drive down to Devizes for our next stop.
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