2027 - Wye Valley & Forest Of Dean

Itinerary

Highlights

• Hotel for 3 nights with breakfast and dinner 
• Porterage & welcome drink on arrival
• Some in-house entertainment
• Visits to Chepstow, Monmouth & Ross-on-Wye
• Heritage train ride on Dean Forest Railway
• Symonds Yat Boat trip
• Entrance to Tintern Abbey
• En-route stop in Stow-on-the-Wold (time permitting)

Quintessential English / Welsh Countryside

Day 1 - After joining your holiday coach, relax and enjoy the scenery as (time permitting) you take a little scenic detour through the charming Cotswolds. Make a stop in Stow-on-the-Wold located on the Roman Fosse Way and at nearly 800ft, the highest of the Cotswold towns. Onward to check into 3* Bells Hotel & Country Club on the outskirts of Coleford surrounded by the Forest of Dean - 3 nights here DBB

Day 2 - 3 - At leisure with two included excursions

INCLUDED EXCURSIONS
Tintern Abbey, Chepstow & Dean Forest Railway
Cross the border into Wales to discover the Gothic masterpiece and romantic ruins of Tintern Abbey, a national icon standing in roofless splendour on the banks of the River Wye. Founded in 1131 by Cistercian monks, its ivy-covered walls and arches inspired artists and poets, including JMW Turner and William Wordsworth. NB The abbey is mainly flat and laid to grass with some gravel paths, mainly at ground level with a few small steps dotted around. 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 and there may be scaffolding around parts of the site. 

Time for a spot of lunch in Chepstow, the gateway to Wales and a picturesque border town situated at the southern end of the Wye Valley in an AONB. The historic town offers a wide variety of independent shops, cafés, restaurants and pubs as well as quaint cobbled streets, ancient buildings and hidden alleyways 

Then head off to Norchard Station for a nostalgic trip aboard the Dean Forest Railway (NB may be steam or diesel hauled). Founded by the Dean Forest Railway Society in 1970, the 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.

Monmouth, Ross-on-Wye & Symonds Yat
Tour along the beautiful River Wye today with the first stop of the day in 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. The most famous landmark is the Monnow Bridge, the only remaining fortified river bridge in Great Britian, built under the reign of Edward I. Although right on the border with England, Monmouth has been firmly established as Welsh since 1974!

Embraced by the River Wye, hilly Ross-on-Wye is an inviting place to potter. With its picturesque location and stunning 17th century Market Hall and Tudor timbered houses, it's hardly surprising Ross-on-Wye is regarded as one of the loveliest towns in the UK. You can browse independent shops, saunter alongside the town's 19th-century mock-Gothic walls and Gazebo Tower folly and admire pastel-hued dwellings tumbling down the hillside to the river. 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. Single rooms are true singles

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