Great Western Coffee Shop

Expecting this one to go quickly...

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Taunton (Always wanted to do that  ;D )

Very good.

No!

On the Wye just north of Monmouth.

And whether that's right or wrong, it looks as if that member of the Squirrel dray must have been thankful for their suspension forks.

Yes, just north of Monmouth Troy.

 A really interesting area, railways-wise. This is the Ross and Monmouth Railway, between Troy (or is it Winchcombe? So confusing) and May Hill. The Wye Valley Railway had its own bridge, on the left in this photo. It would require a good ramp and a long run-up to cross that now.

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Someone with better skills than us might have managed to cycle across: speed and confidence would be required, as well as good suspension. There is a strong probability of a rapid halt followed by an OTB incident.

The cast iron bridge is looking worryingly decrepit, and much of the parapet of the stone viaduct has gone.

That looks like the same type of bridge deck as the old Liverpool Overhead (elevated) Railway. That succumbed to the salt laden sea air and the sulphurous exhaust of the PUG saddle tanks trundling along underneath it.

OTC

I have to confess that's actually not quite where I had in mind. Still, that makes up for Johnnyw's recent photo of Ram Hill, where I knew exactly the spot but somehow typed Iron Acton while meaning Coalpit Heath!

Wonderful photo btw. The stone viaduct is really acquiring that romantic ruin look beloved of 18th century poets.  :D

It is rather. Here's another view, from closer to Troy:

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Zooming in reveals that it may not be long for this world:

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All quite nicely summed up in this film. No apologies if I've posted this before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmtBqZeOdK0

Nowadays, with developments like the Staycation Express, I can't help thinking that the Wye Valley lines would have been a cracking tourist railway route.  I think the lines even covered Symonds Yat way.

Indeed. You'd have had to change at Troy for the Ross & Monmouth to Symonds Yat. There's a trail (largely following the R&M) which I'm told you can ride there from Monmouth (May Hill); maybe next time!

There are a few cyclable railway lines in the Forest of Dean too of course, and the new link through Tidenham tunnel will make things a lot better (when it opens) cutting out a Cat 4 climb from Tintern to St Arvans.

Blimey, is that actually happening? Would there cycle/walking route link to Chepstow too?

I've ridden that trail from Monmouth to Symonds Yat a few times. It's a lovely ride, can get a bit muddy but you don't need a mountain bike. I know someone who was in such a hurry, he preferred to ride along the hard shoulder of the A40 instead. Well, his choice... Ride south to north, you then have the option of riding up Symonds Yat! (which to be honest is merely hard work, whereas riding down SY can be quite... testing... )

Working parties are active, but as far as I can see (Forest of Dean P1735/19/FUL) it's awaiting the planners' decision: https://www.ndac.co.uk/blog/tag/tidenham-tunnel/

Edit: The planning request is just the section from NDAC to Wyedean School: https://greenwaysandcycleroutes.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/chepstow-19-11-03-planning-application-document-to-wyedean-school.pdf

The route from Chepstow will initially involve going up the steep path from the foot of Castleford Hill; once the Dean Forest Railway have retrieved the track it will be possible to improve this, but it really needs a bridge at about the same level as the A48 (which doesn't really accommodate cyclists) and railway (which definitely doesn't).

Edit: This says permission has been granted for the main path: https://greenwaysandcycleroutes.org/wye-valley-greenway/

So was Briz to Monmouth entirely on the bike? If so, is there a reasonably traffic free route there?

Yes, all by bike. To get from Bristol to the old Severn Bridge, we used a combination of the Southmead Quietway and NCN4 (which took us over the M49 at Amazon - an expensive new junction currently only accessible by bicycle!). The Severn Bridge cycle path continues into Monmouth Chepstow, after which there's a short section on the A466 followed by another cycle path to the right of the road from the racecourse to St Arvans. At that point the recommended route is to go up Davauden Road, avoiding the A466, but that's quite a hill and we decided to stick with the shadier route. After a short climb it's mostly downhill and it's quite possible to keep up with the cars for much of it.

Just after Tintern, you can get on the route of the Wye Valley line for a bit at Tintern Station; you can (I'm told) cross over at Brockweir and use the bridle path to Bigsweir Bridge (the old iron bridge with the traffic lights). At Bigsweir, we took the (quiet) road along the west bank of the Wye (to The Narth); after about 2km you can get back onto the Wye Valley line where the road swings round to the left just before Whitebrook. You can then ride along the old line to Penallt, at which point you will not be able to resist stopping at The Boat for a pint of Butty Bach. Cross the railway bridge over the Wye, and head north along the A466 for about 200m, passing the Newland turn, and look out for a steepish path on your right - this leads up to the railway again, which will take you another 2km to Wyesham and into Monmouth.

So no, not all traffic free, but not too bad. It'll be better when the route through Tidenham Tunnel opens! And it would be good to see the remaining track formally taken into the NCN.

_{Edit: the town on the other side of the old Severn Bridge is Chepstow, not Monmouth. It would be quite confusing if there were two Monmouths that close together...}

Most useful.  I think I'll dip a toe in the water with a trip to Chepstow to start with....if that goes well then the world (well, the river Wye) is my lobster!

from Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3769293136432525&set=gm.3305498072868912) - a picture on the return journey

There's a part of me that would rather like to be able to still do that.

Still can, I think ... Corran Ferry.    Here are some (slightly) more recent photos: https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=54789.0

And sadly not running this year - the Kylerhea to Glenelg ferry

That'll do nicely...well it would if it were a tad closer to Bristol.  That said though, I think the No.7 Boats cross harbour ferry from SS Great Britain has a drop front arrangement for bikes.