Day 13 of 14 done and I feel like I am still melting – it was past 10am and over 20C before we left Monmouth this morning! Thank goodness for the forest sections we walked which gave us some incline challenges but at last they had some shade!

The immediate and long incline out of Monmouth was enough to intimidate but we ‘just kept swimming’. Gaining a bit more energy and pep as we moved farther away from the traffic sounds of the city, and as family and friends were waking up back home to text good morning. That little taste / text of home is so special when you abroad!

Through the day we switched between cooling forest walks and super sweaty pasture crossings! Literally taking a micro break in the shade, powering through the sunny bits into another shady spot for another break. Have you see the movie Riddick? Yah, that.

We wrapped the walking day up with a final 3 miles along the River Wye … which sounds amazing and as if there would be a cool breeze a some trees for shade, right? Nope! The above photo is what it was. Far enough away from the river to just be a hot, long pasture walk that felt like it was way, way too long! We did find a neat little picnic spot and managed to convince King Offa himself to pose for a selfie with us though so that helped.

We made it to our gorgeous accommodation, the Parva Guesthouse, around 5pm and wow did it feel good to get the boots of the hot feet. My dogs were barking big time. A shower (which may have flooded the bathroom thanks to horrible plumbing here) and some electrolytes – and we were ready for dinner.

After dinner, when the light was perfect for photographs, we walked the 15mins to the Tintern Abbey ruins – wow, just wow!

A final photo of the River Wye on our way back to the Farmhouse before settling in for the night with a tea and a cookie while we reminisce about the day and plan tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the LAST day. I am a little emotional that it is wrapping up already! We walk from Tintern to Sedbury Cliffs – the weather will be high 20s and luckily we are looking at just 16 kilometers.

Brandé