The walk has a peaceful start. The path winds through scrubland, oaks and ashes, sycamore and holly, with lots of birdsong. A wooden bridge, cattle-trodden mud and it’s onto Sedbury Cliff above the Severn Estuary. It’s a pity, perhaps, that the view from the Offa’s Dyke Footpath’s marker stone is cut off by thick bushes and tops of trees growing on the cliffs. For a view you’ll have to drop a hundred feet or so and make your way round the woodland onto the foreshore, where you’ll see the River Severn and its two motorway bridges. The canal crosses in an iron trough, 120 feet up. Nearby Chepstow has an attractive centre with intriguing streets running down to the river. If you get the chance, visit the Norman Castle. The town was naturally defended by the Wye to the north and east, and by the port wall to the landward sides. Built in the 13th century, it is 1,200 yards long, 6 ft thick and 15 ft high. It had a dozen towers and, on the outside, a dry moat. The Town Gate, renovated in 1986, controlled entry through the wall into the town, where tolls were collected on stock and goods to be sold.