It was a perfect piece of serendipity. I almost didn’t bother going to the washing-up area on the campsite, but we hadn’t heated the water in the boiler and I had a bowlful of dishes.
Washing our breakfast crockery, I got into conversation with a fellow camper who’d been coming here for years. He recommended a walk along the riverbank to the footbridge, crossing the river and heading back on the opposite bank, stopping at the pub on the way before taking the hand ferry back to ‘our’ side of the river.
It sounded like a great first-day outing and half an hour later, we were on our way.
But let me explain. We had arrived the previous afternoon at River Wye Caravan Camping Park, on the banks of the Wye, just minutes from Symonds Yat West (and Symonds Yat East on the opposite bank), amid the splendid scenery of Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
We were planning a few days of relaxing and exploring. Our pitch was perfectly positioned on the riverbank, both for the views and as the starting point for a variety of walks.
