Day 6: May 23

Cheddar to Tintern/Clearwell

77 km / 1200 m

Today we head north via the outstanding Cheddar Gorge to the city of Bristol.  Here we can take a number of routes through or round Bristol and across the River Severn, and up the Wye Valley passing the wonderful Tintern Abbey on the Welsh border enroute to Tintern or Clearwell, where you will stay for the evening.

We started out with a lovely civilized breakfast at Gordon's B&B.  I passed on the full English breakfast today and opted for smoked salmon & poached eggs; yum!  The day was overcast and cool pretty much all day and a bit breezy especially in the morning (and while going over bridges).  We started out by riding through the little village of Cheddar.  It's obviously a tourist town.  It would have been nice to have a little time to explore.  There looked to be many interesting little shops and eateries.  Oh well - onward and upward!  Take a look at the profile below to see that we started out climbing right away.  Lots of breaks, though, to look at the sheep, goats and sheer walls.  Pretty impressive!

And finally - to the top of the climb.......

Chew Valley Lake comes into view.  This artificial lake was built 1950-1956 to create a drinking water reservoir for the city of Bristol.  

On the way towards Bristol.......

As we got closer to the city (Bristol's population is about 500,000) we took to very small roads, residential areas and bike paths, and stayed well west of the city itself.  We ultimately topped out at a large park (Ashton Court Estate?) where I stopped for the best avocado toast I've ever had.  Then down to cross the River Avon on the Clifton Suspension Bridge.  This was a beautiful bridge that I didn't get good pictures of because the footpath was closed and we had to ride in traffic (where we couldn't stop).  So - I lifted a nice picture from the Internet.  The bridge dates from the mid-1800's and incorporates chains reused from a demolished bridge over the Thames in London.

Then through quite a bit of city riding (yuck!) before finally finding some quieter roads again.  

At last the Severn Suspension Bridge comes into view.  After being separated from the van since mile 10, this was to be our afternoon tea break before crossing the bridge and heading into Wales.  

The photo above is our guide, Peter, crossing the suspension bridge.  Gotta say - it was kind of windy up there!

The River Severn has the third highest tidal range in the world, behind Canada's Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay.  The tidal range here can be as much as 15m.

We next navigated our way through the streets of Chepstow, Wales; not a lot of fun.  All the signs were bilingual - Welsh and English.

Soon enough we were in the village of Tintern, and stopped at the amazing abbey there.  There's not much left of it, but I would love to know more about it.  It dates from the 1100s, and it fell into ruin in the 16th century after the dissolution of the monasteries (King Henry VIII).  

The River Wye is the border between England and Wales in this part of the countries.

Riding in the Welsh countryside before crossing back into England.  Interesting to note that we saw no border signs..............

Intersected the Offa's Dyke walking path.

And finally - after a bit of a climb to end the day - into the village of Clearwell.

It's a late night tonight.  There was really just one choice of restaurant for dinner, so we pre-ordered our food a few days ago and had a reservation for 7:30.  I would think that with pre-ordering, we would be eating within 5 or 10 minutes.  Oh no - it took at least an hour before our starters were in front of us and the courses dragged on from there.  The food was delicious, but I'm not excited about finishing dinner at 9:30 at night.  Let's hope that doesn't happen too many more times, although the guides seem to think that 7:30 is an appropriate time to sit down for dinner.  I'll go much earlier when I have a choice.....  BTW - our hotel rooms are lovely and modern.

Tintern / Clearwell:

Population:  853 / 350

Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, just north of the village of Cheddar.  The gorge is the site of the Cheddar show caves.  The caves, produced by the activity of an underground river, contain stalactites and stalagmites.  Cheddar Gorge was named, in 2005, the second greatest natural wonder in Britain, surpassed only by Dan yr Ogof caves.  Cliff Road, which runs through the gorge, offers a popular climb for bicyclists and has a maximum gradient of 16%.  The gorge has close to 1,000 graded rock climbing routes.  

Tintern is a village in the community of Wye Valley, on the west bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with England.  It is popular with tourists, in particular for the scenery and the ruined Tintern Abbey.  The abbey was founded in 1131, during the reign of King Henry 1.  Between 1270 and 1301 the abbey was rebuilt, and when it was completed around four hundred monks lived in the complex.  

Clearwell is a village and former ancient manor in the Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire.  There are mines locally that date back over 7,000 years to the mining of ochre and are known as Clearwell Caves.  Later, the Romans mined iron at Clearwell Meend.  Clearwell Castle, a 'mock' castle of Gothic architecture, was built in 1728.  

Hotel:  The Wyndam (Clearwell)   www.the-wyndham.co.uk

I believe the building itself dates from the mid-1700s.  It has gone through several different uses and has been renovated a few times.

A beautiful country inn & hotel nestled in the heart of the Forest of Dean

The Wyndham is situated in the centre of Clearwell, in the heart of the Forest of Dean. We are owned and run by the prestigious Clearwell Castle Wedding Venue, situated just a short stroll up the road. We have a bar & lounge, 24 beautiful en-suite rooms, a restaurant and private dining & event facilities for up to 50 guests. Currently, we are only offering our Bedrooms on a Bed & Breakfast basis - our Pub and Restaurant remain closed until further notice.

Ride Stats:

92.7 km

1300 m (4265 feet)

The Route: