Day 12 of 14 done and it was a long but amazing one on the Path today. Clocking in at 26 kilometers and 24 degrees we arrived in Monmouth just before 5pm.

We stared the morning with a full cooked breakfast which include sausage, bacon, fried tomatoes, beans, egg, fried mushrooms, toast, and some yogurt and fruit. Sometimes you even get some black pudding mmmm. All washed down with tea of course. A big breakfast fuels the hike for hours!

We joined the Path literally steps from the Old Rectory B&B door …I am on the Path and Impossible Turtle is leaving the B&B in this photo. Love it!

From there we made our way down an initial steep section and then across farmland. At about 1.5hrs the Path passed right by White Castle. Wow! We toured around the castle ruins for a good half an hour – so amazing. The pictures do not do it justice. I put up a video on the Instagram Running for the Gate but still the sheer size of all that remains is just unreal.

From White Castle, we spent the next few hours crossing more pastures and farm land and through an apple orchard. We stopped on little stone bridge for our lunch – our break spots are based on where I can toss of the hiking shoes and put the feet up for a break. Each break makes the next couple hours that much easier. Happy feet = happy hiker!

We had the pleasure of passing the ‘St. Michael’s Church of the Fiery Meteor’ in the small village of Llanvinhangel-Ystern-Llewern. (I could not makeup these names if I tried .. and it is quite entertaining to spend some of our trail time trying to pronounce the towns!)

A couple of hours later we took another short break alongside the River Wye in a fantastic little spot (thanks to the farmer for the bench … or seat as our guide book calls them).

From there we got a much welcomed break from the sun with some forest sections – hello soft walking and shade! We were just 3 miles from Monmouth at this point and keen to wrap up the day with a tea, a shower and then a pint!

Another short jaunt through some pastures we arrived in Monmouth – greeted by the fantastic bridge and tower at the start of the city centre walk and some great old buildings!

We checked in at the Ebberley House B&B (last photo below – you can see our hiking stuff hanging in the windows) and made our way to the town square for some dinner and a little more roaming around this great town! Seems they like pubs with the word Head in them – we saw an Old Nags Head Pub, The Kings Head, and the Queens Head Inn. Interesting! We also found the Monmouth Castle ruins.

A fantastic day, now off the cream up the accidental sunburn and get these feet ready for tomorrow’s walk. We are up for 10.5 miles to our accommodation at the Parva Farmhouse but taking on a little extra so we can spend some time at the Tintern Abbey ruins. Love all this old, stone stuff.

Brandé