30/12/20 - The Last Pub Walk Hurrah at Ross-on-Wye

Distance - 8.25 Miles

Geocaches - 5

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine July 2019 - Walk 8

I'm so out of practice, I forgot to consult the Good Beer Guide before heading off to Ross-on-Wye.  They're in Tier 2, I'm in Tier 2, all should be good for that most illicit of pleasures - a post walk pint.

9 hours later, we're all in lockdown 3, with the only distinction between the Tiers - whether you can get a hair cut.

The walk is a beauty... but not without its doubts.  How bad are the icy roads going to be?  The early stages are along the Wye but will it still have banks or will I need that Lidl middle aisle snorkel I purchased on a whim, along with presentation pack of six Belgian Beers?

Only one way to find out - get on with it.

I start at Wilton Bridge and although there are signs of flooding, the sub zero temperature has made the mud hard.  Its passable, as I work my way along the river and through some serious agriculture.

Along the Wye

Through the Agriculture

Its a 15 year tradition for Mappiman to walk the Wye Valley - but this has always been around Tintern - where believe it or not, I have managed to find a different route each year.  Wales, I think, is completely shut down and you are only able to walk from your front door. I'm sure my solo walk would have been harmless, but there are only so many hills I am prepared to die on.

But the Wye is a long river and I pick up a splendid section of the Wye Valley Walk at Bulls Hill.  I can see what's coming - lots of up and downs, as I knock off Howle Hill and the highest, Chase Hill.  Lovely, wild walking but few photo opps due to to the trees.

The Wye Valley Walk

Occasional gaps in the trees for the Snow Capped South Malverns

A chance for a breather at Chase Hill Fort and I receive confirmation from base camp that there are two potential good beer guide pubs at my destination disposal.  I even get an image with the details that show the micro pub does not do food, so I know that won't be open.

My final hand-pulled cask is going to be in JDW.

Still, I've got the app, I know it will be a splendid and cavernously safe location and I could smash an all day brunch on a blue plate.

The Last Good Beer Guide Tick in 2020

Mask up, sanitise, find my seat and attempt to spark up the app.  I am approached my the manager.

Who wants to see photo proof of my address.

I won't bore you with all the details and my own opinion but with no traditional ID on me - thank god I had just ordered a Tilly Hat in the sales and had a digital receipt.  Me and the fellow Tier 2 Manager can be friends.

This - plus one time email passcodes from HSBC when ordering through the app and you have to ask whether its worth the trouble.  Maybe sherry-addled Tramps in bus shelters had it right all this time.

A gorgeous Theakstons Old Peculiar and a breakfast that included chips convinced me I am right to fight the good fight.

This was £1.29

I will be telling my grand-kids about pubs and they will scarcely believe that a pint was less than half a costa coffee.

A nice walk past the sights of Ross on Wye (the town is crying out for an Adventure Lab Cache) and I say farewell to another thing I hold dear.  

Football with no fans and VAR is dead.  Quality Ale in fascinating locations filled with good cheer is dead.  Going for a walk in Wales is dead.  Trains.... aeroplanes..... live music...  live comedy....  all dead.

Two questions remain - how much is a bottle of sherry and what time is the Bus to Kidderminster?

Farewell Ross-on-Wye.  Farewell to a way of life.