Tintern

We moved 8 miles down the road to Tintern Abbey, for two reasons. Firstly we wanted to have a look around this famous ruined abbey and secondly because we we had arranged to meet Matt's parents, for the first time, in the evening at The Anchor Inn.
As we arrived the car park was busy, but we found a spot that could accommodate us.
We entered the Abbey just as a service of remembrance was emptying out of the chapel. The local scouts association had been honouring the fallen from the area in the two wars -after a little while we heard someone calling "Alan" to find that Matt's parents had recognised us from photos of GGM 90th celebration weekend. Richard and Madeline had been at the service as members of the regional Scouting Fellowship. It was nice to break the ice so early and unexpectedly, and we resolved to have a better chat in the evening over dinner with K and M.
The Abbey is quite spectacular and the backdrop of the hills in the autumn sunshine made it very beautiful. The poppy display within the church was very moving - one poppy for each of the fallen.
After lunch we donned walking boots once again and took the to this section of the Wye walking trail. We then returned to seek the path up to the Devils Pulpit which is a look out point high above the valley with a good view of the Abbey. We rejoined the Offa's Dyke walking trail at this point for the 1 mile ascent to the lookout. It was quite wet underfoot but the view from the top was magnificent, and well worth the effort.
In the evening we joined our new friends for an evening meal which we all greatly enjoyed, and we were pleased to note that our families have lots in common.Read more