Written by I took my 2 kids, Cerys and Ewan, for an excellent weekend away in the Wye Valley during the school break with another couple of families associated with our canoe club.
With the little people still being little we can get away with my 2 man tent and the kids enjoy this as it feels a little more adventurous than the cavernous family holiday tent we own. Having said that by the end of the long weekend a little more space would have been appreciated.
The trip down on Friday was wet, miserable and was not inviting considering that we were camping as well. With Becky and family visiting Cardiff we decided to meet them there with the promise of something to do out of the rain and visiting recognisable areas from Dr Who and Torchwood. We made our way straight to Cardiff bay to have a look around and try and find the ‘Torchwood Institute’. The kids go as far as standing on the doorway but alas it wouldn’t let them in.
We pitched tents at the Christchurch site run by Forest Holidays which we found to be an excellent site, good amenities and a fantastic location. Waking up to nothing but birdsong and unzipping the tent to a forest view was really relaxing, and certainly made a good impression on the kids. The Friday night we had a pub lunch at The New Inn that is a 10 minute walk from the site, a quiet welcoming pub with good food at great prices. The kids pizza was more like a frisbee and was more than enough for the two of them.
Chatting to the very friendly owner the pub has recently fallen into their hands and they are looking to increase the number of campsite visitors after the previous owners neglect. Certainly worth a visit for a meal after arrival or when you don’t want to cook.
Saturday saw us hiring open boats from Ross on Wye canoe hire and paddling 13 miles of the Wye, at £75 for 2 days hire it was quite expensive and we would have paid extra if we had them take the boats to the start for us. Next time we go I think we might hire from Symonds Yat Canoe Hire as they have an egress next to the hire centre and it would cut down on a lot of shuttling and faffing trying to get boats to locations. Once on the water it took a while for Cerys to get used to the boat and relax but once the realisation that we were quite stable sank in she thoroughly enjoyed it, Ewan was in his element and starred in his own Indiana Jones movie for most of the trip. The trip itself is a fantastic lazy day, a varied riverbank from open fields to high imposing cliffs makes for an interesting trip and there is always something to see. A late egress from the river followed by Fish and Chips pretty much finished us off for the day.
Sunday was another river day, as Cerys joined the girls on a day out and Ewan coming with us to watch us on Symonds Yat rapids we were granted another fantastic day of sunshine with which to enjoy ourselves. This time the playboats came out and we joined the many other boaters in messing about on the rapids. Nothing to push my limits but a good site for coaching and developing some simple moving water skills with newer paddlers. Lots of ferry gliding, breaking in and out , rolling and surfing later it was Ice-cream time and Spaghetti Bolognaise knocked up by Becky (the delights of a swanky trailer tent with a kitchen).
Monday was a lazy day, going home, packing up, filling the boot of the car and letting the kids run about on the campsites huge fields and it play area. Rather than making a direct route home a walk though the forest to the lookout point over Symonds Yat provided an adventure. Being tired and the prospect of meeting Wild Boar in the forest didn’t help to increase the enjoyment factor for the kids so we drove back with them both fast asleep in the back.
We have certainly found a campsite that we will be visiting again and with a list of things to do, finding King Arthur’s cave, Go Ape and more canoeing, I should think that we will be back quite soon.
