Saturday 1 September 2007

End of Summer Trip

Wanting to prolong the summer holidays as long as possible, we managed to squeeze in another short Youth Hostel break before the new school term next week.

We stayed this hostel on the banks of the River Wye at Welsh Bicknor.



It is a victorian house and was originally a rectory. Next to it was this very pretty but now disused little church.



It was in an isolated setting but judging by the size of the rectory there must have been a lot more people living in the area in Victorian times. Most of the gravestones were old, mid to late nineteenth century but nothing much after that apart from a couple of new ones 1975 and 2000. It seemed a sad little place as if it had been locked up and forgotten with the churchyard all overgrown.


The River Wye was very pretty and calm but in places the damage caused by the floods last month could still be seen. We spotted debris in the over-hanging trees about 10-12 feet above the current water level, very difficult to imagine on a pleasant summer evening.



We spent the two days walking in and around the Forest of Dean, a quiet end to the summer holidays.



7 comments:

Simply Authentic said...

i absolutely love every time you publish a posting about your travels....it makes me desire so much to go back to europe and be able to travel around! i'm glad you enjoyed your trip!

Heather L. said...

I loved your photos! Thanks for posting them. I would love to have that rectory myself! (I am a minister's wife) I'm glad you had the chance to get away!

Jenny said...

Oh that looks so beautiful. And so green for the end of summer.

willow said...

We do enjoy our little breaks away.We get up early, stay one night and get back late - two full days holiday exploring somewhere new for the price of one nights accomodation.

The hostel was a lovely building but I'm not sure I'd like to live there - think of all that cleaning! It was in a beautiful setting though, and yes it was very green, more than usual for this time of year with all the rain we've had.

Jane said...

I am always amazed at how many stunning hostels there are - near here are 2 youth hostels, one on either side of Loch Lomond - one is a C19th Arts and Crafts house with absolutely fantastic interiors and views, the other is right down on the shore on the quiet side of the loch.
Glad that you managed to holiday right to the end. My children have been back at school for 2 weeks now - basically since the sun began to shine again,
J
x

Anonymous said...

It looks delightful - would you recommend the YHA? I've heard they can be really good. Thanks for sharing such wonderful photos.

willow said...

Yes, Tash, I am a big fan of the YHA. We've been staying in hostels for several years and found most of them to be great. We have found the city ones to be a bit more impersonal but they are great value for money. We usually use hostels for spur of the moment short breaks or as a convenient break on a long journey such as when we are travelling to Scotland on holiday. The Scottish Youth Hostels we stayed in were very good.