This started in conversation with RIP some time previously. Reg occasional passes by the Forest on his way to see family and had suggested a local ride could be worthwhile when next he passed by. Always keen to show off my local patch I was up for this and sometime later Reg contacted me to say he was heading this way en-route to family. Plans were made and a date set; all other plans changed over a few weeks but the set date remained constant and Reg duly rolled into Lydney railway station at the appointed time albeit not on his way to see family (who were heading in the opposite direction to see him a couple of days later!!).
As the train was arriving quite late in the evening, I collected Reg and his bike from the station for the short but uphill journey to my one-bed stone miner's cottage where he was given the luxury of the floor to kip on after a brew, toast and (to an 'outsider') inane chatter. Next morning over tea and cereal Raggedstone rolled up to complete our party of three.
Bikes packed, customary lifting of each others' bikes completed and we rolled out of the gate at about 09.00 straight across the lane into the woods. We dropped down to pass the steam railway workshops at the old Flour Mill Colliery before climbing up onto the ridge towards St. Briavels hopeful of views across the Severn Estuary towards the Severn Bridges. The morning haze meant no views but did promise sunshine later in the day.
Rather than head into St. Briavels we dropped towards the Severn to follow a network of old unsurfaced highways undulating along the edge of the Forest plateau before climbing back up to Madgetts Lane and over the top to drop down a rocky track to Brockweir on the River Wye. Following the river down stream along a nadgery track we crossed into Tintern over the old railway bridge and headed straight to the Old Filling Station café. This used to be an old village filling station (who'd have guessed, eh!) but is now a must-visit cyclists' destination serving excellent coffee amidst cycling pictures and paraphernalia. A brief chat with Paralympian Gold Medal winner Andy Lewis (who is planning to 'bikepack' across France to Spain sometime soon and was keen to talk kit and advice with us), a cup of the finest coffee plus a small carbo-cake-loading and we set off toward Hale Wood and the long climb by fireroad to Whitelye.
The tracks along the high ground to the West of the River Wye offer some excellent riding; we passed through Catbrook and skirted Botany Bay on our way to Cleddon Falls. A viewing of the falls, a few sticks thrown for the local Labradors and on our way again up ancient drove roads through Maryland (wot, no cookies?!?) and past ruined mills through the steep Whitebrook valley back down to the banks of the Wye. There can be only one destination from here, along the old railway line to the Boat Inn at Penallt. Alcoholic refreshment was taken here (do not mention the pea & mint soup which we were just too late for, Reg was not best pleased that they had stopped serving food...) before we crossed back over the Wye via another old railway bridge to Redbrook where we did find food at the excellent village stores.
From Redbrook there are a choice of off-road routes back up to the Forest of Dean; we chose the middle one as the most scenic and gentlest route through a hidden valley up to the village of Newland with its spectacular church (known locally as the Cathedral of the Forest) which sits atop Savage Hill! The track out of the village, known as the Burial Path, was probably the only wet and muddy road of the day but offered a scenic route up to the town of Coleford.
Stopped outside the town's supermarket alongside the cycle racks and just a couple of metres from the adjacent car park we had a little chat with a lovely local lady. At first we thought she was asking for help, even for police assistance but no... she was challenging us. We were probably confused when she mentioned problems with youngsters riding bicycles in the area (given that the three of us had a combined age of 170+ !!) and that the police were keen to prevent such youngsters causing anti-social behaviour on their two-wheeled transport. Slightly confused by this I pointed out that we weren't actually on our bikes, merely standing by them outside the shop, that we were adjacent to the cycle racks and next to a car park. This appeared hard to understand to her as she started to repeat that the police were involved in stopping youngsters on bikes...etc.,...etc.,, fading into the distance as we mounted up and rode away from her across the car park! For the rest of the day we were watching out for police helicopters and listening for hounds baying while the police searched us out. Even the next day as we approached the train station to see Reg off we were wondering if stations, ports and airports might have been closed down....
Buoyed by too much excitement (and the fact that the next few miles were all downhill) we meandered our way to rest awhile outside Parkend Church, beautifully set in the middle of woodland before the final climb of the day to the Rising Sun at Moseley Green. Given that this hostelry is set miles from the nearest town with just 3 or 4 cottages near by, they were fairly busy for a Wednesday night - but not too busy to provide us with good food, good beer and cider, good banter and filled water bottles. A little rooty singletrack , a few hundred metres of fireroad and a climb to out bivvy spot atop a slag heap in the Forest; home from home. Not too cold, no rain, out of sight and away from disturbance. Excellent.
Next morning rolling out of our bags to coffee and porridge followed by a few miles of gentle fireroad riding taking in some of the Sculpture Trail and ending up an hour later at Hopewell Colliery Café just as they opened for breakfast. If you're ever in the Forest of Dean, there are many cafes but this is one of the best! Reg was fascinated by the photos and old newspaper cuttings that adorn the café walls telling the story of Freemining and the historic rights of the Freeminers in the Forest of Dean; Raggedstone and I were equally interested in the hearty breakfasts on the plates in front of us!
Nearly over, a train to be caught we headed off through the woods again towards Lydney Railway Station. With time to spare we visited Lydney Harbour on the Severn where we chatted with tandem riders who are in the Forest for an Easter Rally - about 70-80 tandems attending apparently. Back to the Station to wait for the train and say farewell to Reg. Not a policeman in sight. Raggedstone and I promptly headed for the nearest café before the climb back to chez moi and final goodbyes. 90km, over 1500m climbed, 50/50 riding/chewing the cud (excluding bivvy). That'll do me
All we need now are some photos from RIP and Raggedstone please....
. But it was so good it certainly bears us both repeating for anyone who's at a loose end, and it's nice to get two views on the proceedings