If it's not derelict, I'm not interested

  

This weekend's adventure was to the Wye Valley, an area I have spent a lot of time in, but thought I'd try out some new places. Brother Beyond once again joined me on the trip.

Our first stop was Browns of Llandogo for refreshments. At this point, ever the tight arse, Max grumbled about having to pay (despite never contributing a single penny towards fuel for our trips and slowly destroying my car every time he drives it).  After begrudgingly buying our drinks, we drove on to Tintern. Fun fact - Tintern is where the tinternet was invented. Here we ventured to the abandoned St Mary's Church, the first derelict building on our journey. The church burned down from fire in 1977 and never grew back. 

After leaving the church, we attempted to break into the abandoned Abbey Hotel. We failed miserably.

The next stop on our journey was to the 365 Steps, a series of steep stone steps built into the hillside. Max attempted to count the steps but gave up at 6, which isn't like him to give up on something. After a knackering climb, we emerged at the top to an amazing view of the River Wye, which made it all worthwhile. As they say, what goes up, must come down, and so we took the alternative route back down via a more manageable path.

Once back at the motor, I reluctantly handed over control of the driving to Max while I navigated us to our next stop, the ruins of The Church of St James at Lancaut. Here we followed a steep path through the woods down to the second derelict church on our adventure. This tiny church sits right on the riverfront and appears inaccessible by any means other than foot. It's a bizarre place for a church, but a lovely spot for a picnic (if we'd had one). 

Here we were approached by a woman asking us if we knew what make of tree we were stood next to. I found myself secretly thinking "who cares?". Despite my lack of interest, an enthusiastic tree inspection ensued between Max and this boring woman. Coming to no conclusion, we said our goodbyes, exchanged phone numbers and left. The return walk was hideous, but we were both glad we'd made the effort to see the church.

By the time we eventually made it back to the motor we were both exhausted and ready for home. However, we had one more stop to make on our journey - the old Severn Bridge. To get under the bridge you have to drive to Beachley. There is a small car park where the road ends and you can walk down to the Severn Estuary under the bridge. Needless to say, the bridge is massive and it's fascinating to see it from underneath so close up. 

After deciding to call it a day, we headed for home. But our journey didn't end there. Not satisfied with exploring two derelict churches, we wanted more. So we stopped off at the ruins of Llanwarne Church. Standing proudly in the centre of the village betwixt the houses, this was the most impressive of all the churches we had visited today. 

Having finally had our fill of derelict churches, we finally set off on the final leg of our journey home.

This has so far been the most exhausting of all my adventures, and I'm fairly sure I will have difficulty walking tomorrow. If you like exploring derelict churches, then this adventure is for you. I particularly recommend parking up under the Severn Bridge if you like looking at great big things. 

Check out instagram for more photos of my adventures