Church of the Holy Cross
The next sangha walk on Sunday 4th July, led by Jill Bird, will be through the rolling hills of the Monmouthshire countryside with views across valleys and across to the Black Mountains. The walk is a pilgrimage walk that takes in three ancient churches, including the Church of the Holy Cross.
The walk is about 4 miles and should take 2–3 hours at a gentle pace, and taking time to pause at each of the churches. Bring picnic lunch and we will have a lunch break at one of the churches.
Meet at St Andrews Park at 10am to share lifts, or meet at the Wern-y-cwm car park, Kilgwrrwg (near Devauden) at 10.30am.
The walk is open to friends, family and children, and dogs are welcome. Part of the walk will be in silence. Bring a picnic lunch with you. See further information about this walk below.
Please let me know in advance if you’re planning to come on the walk, and if so whether you need or can offer a lift, and whether you will join us in Bristol or Kilgwrrwg.
If you have any questions about the actual walk contact Jill Bird – Tel. 0117 9551360
With warm wishes,
Gordon
Some further information about this walk:
Pilgrimage’ to an ancient church in the rural Marches
Only around 30 minutes drive from Bristol, the ‘Church of the Holy Cross’ cannot be reached by road, as it a set in a bowl shaped valley surrounded by hills, farms and meadows – one of the best kept secrets of the Welsh borders.
Getting there
Take M4 and M48 to Chepstow (if the old bridge is closed, go over new bridge and double back towards Chepstow.). Take A446 (don’t go into Chepstow) and continue to the racecourse roundabout. Here, turn left taking B4293. Go through Itton. After about a mile you will pass a lane to the left with a bus stop. Take the next lane left with a small triangular green and a large red brick building in front of you. Continue down this lane, past the Kilgwrrwg sign, over a small cross roads. The car park is further along on your right.
More Information
We start the walk along a ridge lane which, weather permitting, will give us views over the valleys and distant views of the Black Mountains, visiting our first church. We then drop down through woods, over some fields and then on to a secret location. Continuing, we tarry a while in our first more ancient church, set in a lovely spot. Then, we cross a stream and go up a small hill, through a small ancient woodland and across fields to our exquisite stone church. After sojourning here for a while, soaking up the atmosphere, we drop down slightly through a flower meadow, which should be filled with the sound of grasshoppers and the flight of butterflies. Then, there is a long hill which we take very slowly, stopping occasionally, to take in our emerging mountain views and savor this undiscovered part of rural Wales. This takes us to the car park. (Route length: 4.5 miles.)