Usk to Abergavenny

The town of Usk was in bloom as I walked out of it, with brightly coloured flower baskets and flower displays on the bridge and many of the houses, looking exceedingly cheerful in the morning sun, with their red geraniums and yellow marigolds. Having crossed the river on the old bridge the path took me through a municipal park with dog walkers and then into farmland through fields of maize (some of it taller than me), across the stubble of wheat and by areas of peas. There were a few houses, a little road walking and some stretches of woodland by the river before reaching grassy fields with a distant view of the Skirrid to the north.

More fields and woodland walks beside the river followed one side of the river or the other, until I reached a pleasant section of National Trust riverside with areas especially designated for swimming dogs! Himalayan Balsam, a plant I had never seen 10 years ago, seemed to be everywhere displacing native wild plants (although replacing the stinging nettles which were attacking my bare legs, or the brambles grabbing my tee shirt, may not be such a bad thing).

Himalayan Balsam by the Usk Valley Walk

After the National Trust riverside (keep following the path along the bank in this section) the Usk Valley Way changes direction from north to west, with bits of road walking, followed by long stretches through pastoral fields, often along the river side. There was a curious bridge with "holes" through it in this stretch. I diverted into "The Bryn" hoping for a shop with lunch supplies but with no success, so I walked onto Llanellen where a shop supplied me with a sandwich and ginger beer. There was then a steep slope up to the Monmouth & Brecon canal. Looking back gave expansive views of the edge of the Brecon Beacon mountains.

After eating my sandwich on a handy bench, my final section today of the Usk Valley Walk was along the canal, I passed a few barges, I seemed to be walking faster than them, with the trees shading me from the occasional sunlight. Reaching Llanfoist and the sign for the Blaenavon World Heritage site (an old industrial area), I turned off the canal and headed into Abergavenny, where they were setting up for the Eisteddfod, that national celebration of Welsh culture. As my train did not go for another hour I wondered around Abergavenny, and although too late for the market, I had a pleasant coffee and Bakewell tart at a cafe. I caught the train to Tenby, I doubt if any on the train were actually going to Tenby, most got off at Newport or Cardiff.

In all I walked 29.4 km. Waymarking was generally good but in places an Ordnance Survey Explorer map was needed where signs were absent or where it was not clear where the path exited a large field. Paths were generally clear but in a few cases brambles were encroaching.