Where to Stay
Very few of us are lucky enough to live near our lake, so we tend to stay in Chepstow on the Saturday night. This usually involves a decent meal at The Boat Inn! Chepstow's a very pretty, ancient town with a cool castle and very close to the Wye Valley, Tintern Abbey and the Forest of Dean. All are well worth a visit. If you are bringing non-diving friends with you, they can easily make a weekend of it.
Some good, reasonable priced Bed and Breakfast places nearby:
Mrs Potts - Upper Sedbury House, Sedbury Lane, Chepstow. Tel: 01291 627173. Big country house in the middle of nowhere with stunning views. Nice B and B. £37 for a double, limited rooms, not all ensuite.
Jill Gore - Thorncroft, Alverton, Nr Lydney - next to the Blacksmiths Arms on the A48 north of Chepstow. £25 for a single, little bit more for two people. Clean, and right by a pub that does good food. About 5 minutes from the lake. Tel 01594 528105
Liz - St Ann's House, 27 Bridge Street, Chepstow 01291 625063. £30 for single room, £58 for double. Rooms are not ensuite but fairly cheap and very close to The Boat Inn, our usually Saturday night haunt. And apparently, the breakfast is great!
The First Hurdle, 9-10 Upper Church St, Chepstow. Tel: 01291 622189. Around £60 for a double, £40 if you're on your own. This is more of a guesthouse and does a good breakfast. Right next to a nightclub though and can be noisy.
The Blacksmiths Arms, Alvington, Nr Lydney, GL15 6AU. Tel 01594 529657. About 5 minutes on up the A48 from NDAC, this is a really oldey worldey pub with delicious food and some rooms. Cheap at £35 a room (with two people in it) but the bathroom is shared and the breakfast is toast and toaster in the room - and it's a bit scruffy. Cheap and slightly better than camping.
Afon Gwy - 28 Bridge St, Chepstow. Hotel in the middle of Chepstow with 4 rooms en-suite, about £45 a night single, bit less if you share. 01291 620158
Castle View Hotel - 13 rooms en-suite 01291 620349
Nice hotel in the middle of Chepstow with good food. About £50 a night for a room but you can share. Ask for a "family room" and fit 3 people in!
The Chepstow Hotel - good deals on family rooms (sleep 3) and great, cheap food. About £45 a night for a room. 01291 626 261. You can book online.
Beaufort Hotel - 18 rooms en-suite 01291 622497
For others, call Chepstow Tourist Information on 01291 623772 - they have a list of late availability
Camping options include:
Woodlands View Camping and Caravan Park, Sling, nr Coleford, Glos GL16 8JA Tel: 01594 835127. About 15 minutes from the lake. Approx £10 a night for a car, tent and two adults. Hot showers included.
Whitemead Forest Park, Parkend, Lydney, Glos. GL15 4LA. Tel: 0845 3453425. About 10 minutes from the lake
Beeches Farm Campsite, Miss Graces Lane, Tidenham Chase, Chepstow, Gwent NP16 7LZ (01291 689 257- this is the basic one with the amazing view. It's about £3 a night and you don't normally have to book. It now has showers! To get there: head from NDAC towards Chepstow on the A48. Turn right signposted"Tutshill" and "Wye Valley Quad Bike Centre" (campsite is very near the Quad Centre). At 1st roundabout by the pub, turn right. Keep going for about 2 1/2 miles until you see a brown sign pointing left for the Wye Valley Quad Centre, it points to a road with a red post box at the end of it marked Dead End and "Miss Graces Lane". Take that road and keep going forever, just straight on. It turns from road to gravel track, cement track, back to gravel and eventually arrives at the campsite - in total about 3 1/2 miles from the A48. Enjoy it but don't try it in too posh a car!
