The Wye Valley

Posted on 2010/09/17 22:52:35 (September 2010).

[Saturday 4th September 2010]
Yuka had specially requested to go and visit South Wales while she was in the UK, and so we decided to do that this weekend. As there were three of us we decided it would probably end up more economical to hire a car, so that's what we did.

Picking up the car was a somewhat slow and frustrating process (it seems everyone hires cars on Saturday mornings, but Hertz don't want to lay any extra staff on), but eventually we were on the road. I'd had my heart set on arriving in South Wales in the traditional and rather lovely way - going over the old Severn Bridge, and then driving up the wonderfully scenic stretch of the Wye Valley between Chepstow and Monmouth, culminating in a pub lunch at the Boat Inn. This didn't quite materialise, as rather unfortunately the old Severn Bridge was closed for the day, so instead we had to go a much less scenic route, over the newer Severn bridge, and then back along the motorway a bit - but I was determined to get to the Boat Inn for lunch.

So we just managed to make it to the Boat Inn while they were still serving lunch, and it was utterly fantastic. Dad had worked here briefly in the 1980s, and I have fond memories of walking down the big hill from the house he was living in at the time, and hanging around outside the kitchen until he was finished. I remember being fed weird and wonderful snacks - raw cabbage with soy sauce, still a favourite of mine (Dad explained it as being a Korean dish). Also, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame used to live nearby (in a big house called The Argoed), and would sometimes come to this pub. I remember once as we were leaving in Dad's car, Robert Plant were hovering in the car looking confused about where to park. Dad stopped and rolled down his window and said "there's a spot over there Robert", to which he replied "cheers Nick".

Going back to a pub you have such fond memories of after a long absence can be a perilous endeavour but I'm pleased to report it had barely changed, and is still a great pub today. There was almost a saloon door swinging effect as I entered, and the locals eyed the stupidly overdressed Londoner - fantastic. They had at least three perries behind the bar, and probably more ciders, as well as a large array of beers served directly from the barrel. The food was fantastic too - Chie had the Ploughman's which was everything a Ploughman's should be. I went for the Pan Hagarty - a simple but delicious Welsh dish of potatoes, onions, garlic and cheese (a bit like a Welsh answer to Devon's Homity Pie perhaps). Not a bloody goat's cheese tart in sight - a lot of London pubs could learn a thing or two from the menu.

We sat outside, and with the slight exception of some mildly irritating wasps, the combination of the food, perry, the fantastic location and all the fond memories of the place made it utter bliss.

I had been wanting to take Chie to see some of Offa's Dyke some time now, but whenever we're in South Wales normally we don't get round to it. There's a stretch I particularly like just above Redbrook, over the river from the Boat Inn (and conveniently where the car park is for the pub). So after lunch we took a stroll up the hill, and along the interesting ancient wooded section along the top of the dyke. It's another place I would often come to with Dad - although probably at the time I used to grumble about all the walking a bit - but in hindsight more fond memories.

The Wye valley is a truly lovely part of the world - it was the birthplace of the picturesque movement, which in some ways is attributed with the birth of modern tourism - the idea of going to visit a place just to enjoy the scenery (the Grand Tour that the English aristrocracy would make to France, Italy and Greece was more about education and escaping the social norms of England at the time). I spent a lot of time there as a child as Dad and Vera lived in various parts of it at various times, but it's only really now, returning with a great appreciation of these sorts of things, that I realise just how idyllic it is there.

After leaving the Wye Valley we then headed on to Vera and Robin's house in Abergavenny, in time for tea, and we remained there for the rest of the day.

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