Some Favourite Things: Walking Offa's Dyke Path: Sedbury Cliffs to Chepstow to Bigsweir Bridge

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Walking Offa's Dyke Path: Sedbury Cliffs to Chepstow to Bigsweir Bridge

King Offa was the King of Mercia (approximately modern-day England) in the late 8th century and it is believed that he is the person responsible for the idea of building a dyke, a longitudinal mound of earth between his country and the country to the west, today's Wales. The presence of the Dyke does not appear to be related to defence since it is not significantly large enough to keep out marauders and it is commonly thought that Offa had it built as a show of his power and authority. Nobody really knows.

The Dyke extends in whole or in part, in varying widths and heights along much of the border between England and Wales. It is missing completely in some sections.

The Offa's Dyke Path, a National Trail of Britain, follows the course of the Dyke, beside and even at some points, on top. In sections where the Dyke is missing, the Path continues, extending from the Severn Estuary, near Chepstow in the south to the North Sea at Prestatyn, officially 177 miles or 285 Kilometers. Add more for side trips to sights-not-to-be-missed, wrong or missed turns and access to accommodation/food and the distance easily becomes 300+ Km.

I walked the Path in May/June of 2018 over 15 days of walking and also enjoyed rest days in Hay-on-Wye and Llangollen. I have attempted to put some of the photos and videos I took into a series of movies which I hope visitors to this blog will enjoy. These first two videos below are "enhanced" with music which I find annoying and may not use in the future.

As always, I'd love to hear what you think!