Wyndcliff, Monmouthshire

Wyndcliff is a limestone escarpment along the west side of the River Wye, 3 miles north of Chepstow, surrounded by ancient woodland, though all of the current trees are fairly recent, mostly 20th century, and many were formerly coppiced. The underlying strata are from the Black Rock Limestone, also known as lower dolomite, and so-named for its prominent exposure at Black Rocks in the Avon Gorge, south of the Clifton Downs.

The cliff is 0.3 miles long, the rim shaped like an inverted V, facing south, and at the midpoint, right on the edge, is a fine overlook known as Eagle's Nest, looking out across the River Wye and its big bend at Lancaut, towards Chepstow and the Severn estuary, and apparently, on clear days, all the way to the Mendip Hills, 25 miles distant.

The overlook can be seen along a 1.2 mile loop path, climbing 350 feet, all through the woodland, where the trees are mostly beech, ash, hazel and yew. The walk passes a long-disused quarry, and a woodland house, Moss Cottage, which is of modern construction, replacing an earlier dwelling of this name from the 19th century. The woods are inhabited by the usual ancient indicator wildflowers, plus many types of fungi, and also a number of rare whitebeam species; one (aria wyensis) identified as recently as 2024.


Wyndcliff is also notable as a rockclimbing location, the specific site being at the east end of the escarpment, where the most bare rock is exposed - here the cliff is fully vertical, and over 100 bolted routes have been established. This site is also described as a former quarry, though one not marked on maps.

The Loop Path

Wyndcliff is reached by the A466, which runs past below; parking is available just south of the road at Lower Wyndcliff, or near the west edge of the escarpment at Upper Wyndcliff, on a side road; both points are along the loop path. From the lower parking place, a path enters the woods, past an old gravel pit, to a junction at the start of the circuit, also the site of an old quarry, now a small open area, surrounded by the trees. To the east, the path reaches Moss Cottage, then has a steep climb via many steps, up a wooded slope and then the cliff itself, to another junction, with the Wye Valley Walk, from where the Eagle's Nest viewpoint is 500 feet east. In the other direction, the path traverses along the top of the cliff, descending gradually to the upper car park and then drops down more steeply back to the initial junction. All of this walk is through Wyndcliff Wood, while the trees south of the road are part of Lower Wyndcliff Wood.

History

The Eagle's Nest viewpoint was constructed in 1828 by the then landowner, the Duke of Beaufort, and was linked by a footpath to the nearby Piercefield Estate, the grounds of which had been developed for tourism, a practice that had become increasingly popular since construction of the Wye Valley Turnpike Road, (now the A466) in the mid 1820s. The Duke also constructed the steep path up, which is (still) known as 365 steps, and it may indeed once have had this many, though the number today is somewhat fewer, around 300. Also built around this time was the original Moss Cottage, a small Gothic structure with thatched roof and stained-glass windows, used to provide refreshments to early visitors. The cottage was removed in the 1950s.