Tunneling

 

This weekend's adventure took us tunneling in Wales. Not for anyone who's claustrophobic or scared of the dark,  Tiddenham Tunnel  is a disused railway line in the Wye Valley, which has recently been turned into a greenway. 

We entered the tunnel at its South entrance, which is located just outside of Chepstow. There isn't anywhere close to the tunnel to park, but we managed to slip the motor next to the Church in Tiddenham village (the main Church car park was locked but there are a couple of spaces at the top of the lane next to the Church). We then set off along the public footpath through the woods along the back of the National Diving Centre where you can join the Greenway about 500yds before the tunnel entrance. 

The tunnel is 1km long and is open until 7pm during the summer. Don't let the photo above deceive you - the tunnel is practicularly pitch black, with the lighting kept deliberately minimal to keep the resident bats happy. Once you pass the first bend, the tunnel stretches out seemingly endlessly. We passed the occasional walker and cyclist, but when nobody else was around, it was eerily quiet. 

After walking the length of the tunnel and back again, we jumped in the motor and headed off to our accommodation for the night - the Celtic Manor. The hotel has the feel of a holiday resort abroad, rather than a hotel, with a huge lobby and several bars and restaurants, as well as a spiffy spa and champion golf pitch. 

We started the evening off with drinks in the afternoon sun on the terrace, followed by a buffet dinner in their Olive Tree restaurant, where every possible variety of food was on offer. Needless to say we hit that buffet hard and stuffed our little piggy chops. We then spent the rest of the evening lying in bed feeling very remorseful. 

After a slightly uncomfortable sleep, in the morning we skipped off to breakfast to add more food to our already full bellies. 

We left the hotel 2 stone heavier each, and made our way to Sellack in search of an abandoned bridge. I'm not entirely sure what the bridge was originally used for, but all that is left today are the original bridge supports, with no visible hints to its previous purpose. 

From the bridge we took a drive to Hoarwithy where we stopped off briefly to skim stones from a little beach on the river next to the Sellack suspension bridge (a foot bridge). We then meandered our way home across country, stopping off at the occasional public house.

I would definitely recommend visiting Tiddenham Tunnel, as long as you don't freak out in dark enclosed spaces. And the Celtic Manor was awesome, and we'll be staying there again some time (although maybe we'll give the buffet a miss next time).

Check out Instagram for more photos of my adventures