Our summer UK break in Lydney
We took a leisurely drive down, no motorways or dual-carriageways, heading via the Cotswolds and after a drive through Chipping Campden parked up in Broadway to stretch our legs, enjoy a late picnic lunch and sample some local ice-cream before the short hop to Lydney.
Arriving at our lodge we were delighted to find that the Dean Forest Railway was directly across the road meaning a two minutes’ walk on Sunday for our jaunt. We spent Saturday enjoying the enormous gardens, all 7 acres (shared with the owners), of our lodge and they were completely secure so we could relax knowing that Coco and Dora couldn’t escape. They had a huge amount of fun charging about, jumping in the stream and waterfall and trying, in vain, to catch a whole family of squirrels – but they never tired of trying! At teatime we headed down to historic Lydney harbour, situated on the Severn estuary, watching the sandbanks rapidly get swallowed up by the fast, incoming tide.
Not all the stations were open for the heritage Dean Forest Railway excursion, so we were pleased that we only had to cross the road to join the service. It was a relaxing morning ride up to Parkend, then down to Lydney Junction before returning to Norchard Station.
Chris & Bobbi headed to Go Ape at Mallards Pike for the Treetop Challenge on Monday and had a fantastic time wearing themselves out. They loved the location so much that we returned later in the week with the dogs who always love exploring new places and had huge amounts of fun splashing in the lake, ostensibly to catch the geese (complete failure every time!) and chasing each other through the woods. With Wales being so close we headed across the border to beautiful Tintern Abbey on the banks of the River Wye and after exploring the grounds walked to the village to enjoy the sunshine and the views along the riverbank then drove up to delightful Ross-on-Wye before heading back to the lodge. We ventured back into Wales two days later with a trip to Chepstow and its famous castle and I can highly recommend both Tintern and Chepstow for all ages, although Chepstow can be hard on your calves!
Our final morning saw us back at Mallards Pike. Chris and Bobbi had booked a Segway tour and I was left to exhaust Coco and Dora before we headed for home. It was definitely busier than our previous visit so we mostly stayed in the woods so they could have a run around – and not drag me around! We did see Chris & Bobbi whiz by from a safe vantage point, thankfully the dogs were on their leads otherwise Dora would most likely still be chasing the group to this day!
Now to start planning summer 2022 – although we might just go back to Lydney…..