2025 - Wye Valley & Forest Of Dean

Itinerary

Highlights

• Hotel for 3 nights with breakfast and dinner 
• Porterage & welcome drink on arrival
• Included visit to Chepstow
• Heritage train ride on Dean Forest Railway
• Symonds Yat Boat trip
• Entrance to Tintern Abbey
• En-route visits to Monmouth & Burford (time permitting)

Quintessential England

Day 1 - After joining your holiday coach, relax and enjoy the scenery as you head through the charming Cotswolds. Make a stop in Burford with its famous High Street which sweeps downhill towards the River Windrush, its medieval bridge and impressive church. Both sides of the street are flanked by an unbroken line of ancient houses and shops.  Onward to check into Bells Hotel & Country Club on the outskirts of Coleford surrounded by the Forest of Dean - 3 nights here with breakfast & dinner.

Day 2 - 3 - At leisure with two included excursions. DBB

INCLUDED EXCURSIONS
Chepstow & Dean Forest Railway
Chepstow is the gateway to Wales - a picturesque border town situated at the southern end of the Wye Valley in an area of outstanding natural beauty. The town is steeped in history and here you will find quaint cobbled streets, buildings that date back 1000 years, alleyways and hidden gems. The word Chepstow derives from the old English 'chepe stowe', meaning a market place, and today the town boasts a wide variety of independent shops, cafés, restaurants and pubs, offering unique products and local food & drink. Beautifully preserved Chepstow Castle stretches out along a limestone cliff above the River Wye (entrance approx. £10 pp in 2024)

Then head off to Norchard Station for a nostalgic aboard the Dean Forest Railway (NB may be steam or diesel hauled). Founded by the Dean Forest Railway Society in 1970, the Dean Forest Railway runs along part of the old Severn & Wye Railway lines, which were first built as a tramroad over 200 years ago. The 4.5 mile line runs through beautiful woodland and countryside, offering the chance to experience the relaxing pace of a typical country branch line. Norchard is the main station where you will find a shop, museum, locomotive restoration shed and cafe and you will travel down the line to Lydney Junction, back to Norchard and up the line to Parkend before coming back to Norchard (Please don't alight at Norchard until you have completed the full journey). A visit to the museum explains how the railway used to look, what uniform was worn and the equipment used in yesteryear.

Tintern Abbey and Symonds Yat
Cross the border into Wales to visit the Gothic masterpiece of Tintern Abbey, a national icon — still standing in roofless splendour on the banks of the River Wye nearly 500 years since its tragic fall from grace. It was founded in 1131 by Cistercian monks and the abbey ruins lay forgotten until the18th century when something wild and romantic began to stir in British hearts. Visitors began to flock to its ivy-covered great walls and arches in their setting of wild natural beauty. JMW Turner made his first trip to Wales to sketch at Tintern and William Wordsworth returned to Tintern in 1798 to write his famous poem ‘Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey’. NB The abbey is mainly flat and laid to grass with some gravel paths. The site can be enjoyed at ground level, but there are a few small steps dotted around the area. NB Ongoing conservation and repair work is being undertaken at Tintern Abbey until 2029. This may restrict access to some areas of the site at the time of your visit

Time for a spot of lunch in the Georgian town of Monmouth, nestled in the tranquil lower reaches of the beautiful Wye Valley. The town is situated where the River Monnow meets the River Wye, so at the mouth of the Monnow. Monnow mouth, hence Monmouth, and although right on the border with England, it has been firmly established as Welsh since 1974! Then head onto the renowned beauty spot of Symonds Yat, one of the most iconic and beautiful locations in the Dean Wye. The coach can take you to Symonds Yat West where you will find the Butterfly Zoo, Riverside Bar and it is from here that you board your included 40 minute cruise along the River Wye (subject to river conditions). There are steps with handrails to board

Day 4 - Depart the hotel this morning to head back to your home towns via interchange Back to top

Accommodation

Bells Hotel & Country Club, Coleford

Located in the Forest of Dean on the outskirts of the historic market town of Coleford, this independently-owned 3* hotel is positioned in a peaceful location on a hill with beautiful views over the Wye Valley.

Each of the comfortable 53 bedrooms are of a high standard and traditional in style and offer free WiFi, TV and tea / coffee making facilities.

The hotel does not have a lift but there are plenty of ground floor bedrooms. The hotel is located across two buildings, with the reception, bedrooms and beauty suite in one, and the bar, restaurant and terrace in the other (approx. 20 yards fairly flat walk between the blocks).

The hotel also boasts a county standard bowling green as well as an 18-hole golf course (both payable locally). The walk into town is approx. 10 minutes. Back to top