Glampers come in all shapes and sizes: groups of friends, reunions, birthday parties, hen parties, romantic getaways and families spending quality time together, and quite apart from enjoying our vintage caravan vibe and sunset views over the Black Mountains, they all love the River Wye. Half a mile below the glampsite, this magnificent river meanders through some of the UK’s most celebrated scenery and we think the best way to see it is by bobbing along in a canoe.
Canadian style canoes fit three adults comfortably or two adults and two kids. They can be hired from the helpful folk at the Ross-on-Wye Canoe Hire Company who will drop you off at the Kerne Bridge launch point below Goodrich Castle before giving you a quick pep talk regarding safety and oar technique. Right here you’ll find The Paddle Cafe, a handsome 70s converted French fire truck run by local legends Boo and Charlie, where you can stock up on yummy baguettes, snacks and drinks for sustenance on your river adventure.
The first feeling on the water is one of calmness as you sedately paddle downstream. Ancient trees hove into view and on either bank the Wye Valley gently rises from pasture up to woodland. Grazing animals gaze down nonchalantly, swans glide silently by and maybe you’ll catch the iridescent blue flash of a swooping kingfisher. One of the nation’s most colourful birds, they perch on branches overhanging the river watching for fish below.
Canoeing the River Wye, the fourth longest river in the UK, is a unique experience and it is stunning. No wonder that the British tourism trade was born here back in the mid 18th century, with poets, painters and writers drawn to the area seeking the ‘Picturesque’. By the 1770s a two day boat trip from Ross-on-Wye all the way to Chepstow was the height of fashion.
There are plenty of spots to pull up on the shingle of the banks for a refreshing dip or restorative snack but many of our guests like the green on the left bank at Lydbrook. Here you can spread out your picnic or mosey over the road to the Forge Hammer pub and microbrewery (watch out for the curio shop as you go, it has a feel of The Wicker Man). Back on the river, you’ll soon see Stowfield Bridge looming large ahead. Known locally as the Black Bridge, its distinctive shape and former railway history hark back to the Forest of Dean’s industrial past.
The next section of your trip is breathtaking as the Wye bends gently south before turning back on itself and flowing north beneath the magnificent edifice of Yat Rock. This gorge is as beautiful a spot as anywhere we’ve ever seen: on your right lush green rolling pastureland below Coppett Hill wood whilst on the opposite side a 504 ft limestone rock that is home to nesting peregrine falcons, towers over the river, Not for nothing was there an iron age fort at the top, today the perfect vantage point for spotting birds of prey and 360 degree views of the surrounding hills and countryside. Silently the river snakes its way on to Tintern and beyond to the Severn Estuary.
The 13th Century church of St Dubricius soon appears on your right, named after a 6th century Herefordshire holy man who established scholastic monasteries. It sits serenely on the riverbank before you take another turn south towards your final destination Symonds Yat, best known today as the location for the hit TV series Sex Education. Once you’re upright and back on land, chances are you’ll be in need of a reviving pint. There are good pubs either side of the river with the Saracen’s Head on the East side and Ye Old Ferrie Inn over on the West side. A hand pulled ferry connects the two banks meaning you can sample both if you wish.
A lazy morning or afternoon spent canoeing the River Wye, something we try and do at least once a year, never fails to inspire and fire the imagination. Back in 1798 William Wordsworth wrote one of the nation’s greatest poems, colloquially known as ‘Tintern Abbey’. The Wye Valley he describes and sentiment he uses are unchanged:
Five year have past; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a soft inland murmur. Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
That on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
We open our van doors in April and our season runs until early October. As well as Ross-on-Wye Canoe Hire Company we also recommend Canoe The Wye and for large groups Wye Canoes. You can book half day, whole day and 2 day trips starting upstream in the village of Hoarwithy. Booking in advance is strongly advised.
