Goytre Wharf - South Wales
Circular walk: 6.63 miles
what3words address for parking:
///wording.pocket.pavilions
Goytre Wharf, just off the Old Abergavenny Road,  is a popular spot with locals and visitors. There is plenty of parking (pay and display, £1 all day) and a nice cafe.
We walked this route anticlockwise, heading west on a footpath just beyond the turn off the Old Abergavenny Road to the wharf. The path then heads south along the ridge and about half way up it. The views towards the east along this section are quite special, although the path was overgrown with bracken and other assorted vegetation. A pair of secateurs would have been very handy! This whole section leading to the canal is signposted pretty haphazardly with some stiles buried deep in drifts of tall bracken and the paths are not as easy to follow as they should be; we missed stiles and gates a couple of times and had to back track and search for the right path. The section between about the first and second mile is particularly confusing in places. Stiles and route markers are not well maintained. However, if you’re not stressed by that the walk is lovely!
Once you get onto the canal towpath everything becomes a lot more straightforward, although the GPS fixes were not very reliable but they didn’t need to be – if the canal is on your left, you’re fine!. There’s something about walking beside these old canals that I love, and not just because the paths are level!
Once you get back to the wharf a tunnel takes you under the canal and there’s a good cafe waiting to welcome you.
This was a fine walk and the few frustrations were easily forgotten.
walking
PeterHadfield on scottexservices.com