This cache will take you to a location that will reward you with
a great view of the Severn Estuary, mouth of the River Wye and both Severn bridges.
Free and ample parking can be found directly under the old Severn
Bridge (ST 55100 90600). This is a great starting point and a strange experience
being under this impressive structure with the sound of heavy traffic thundering
above. This is an amazing place to park up when it is foggy, truly eerie.
An Ordnance Survey map for the Beachley viewpoint parking is available at
this web site.
Before and for a short period after the Bridge was built this was the place
the ferry service crossed to & from Aust Cliff. One of the old ferry boats has
made a recent return for restoration and can be found braced up on the shore
line below the hotel.
This is also the base of SARA
(The Severn Area Rescue Association) , care must be taken not to block their
access to the units building and boat launch (the carpark may overflow on weekends
in high summer.)
The cache can only be accessed from the shoreline, but from the
carpark you can either walk along the beach (preferred) or take the asphalt
lane and find one of the overgrown paths leading down to the shore nearer to
the cache. The cache is a ammo box located above the tide line, so a tiny climb
up a rock bank is required. Take care with this scramble check foot/hand holds, could be slippery when wet. Please replace the
cache so it is tucked out of sight and behind the branch/roots which stop it
falling out onto the shore.
Nearby you may find an outflow pipe, as far as I know it is and always has been
clean water gushing out, have fun trying to block it like everyone else fails
to do. From the cache location you can see a beacon and a ruin on a tiny island
just offshore, this is called Chapel Rock. Not that I believe any geocacher
would, but I have to say please do not consider trying to get to this
island even at lowest tides, even if you survive the mud those few metres rapidly
fill with some of the strongest currents the River Severn has to offer.
Near the slipway overlooking the Severn with unbeatable views
is the 'The Old Ferry Inn' which has history going back to the early 17th century,
and in its time it has been a customs house and a vicarage. If you which to
have a pint and something to eat, I have been told they serve very good meals.