Total miles: 13
Elevation gain: 3,498 ft
Time walking: 9am – 5:30pm
Miles to date: 412.1
Wow. A pretty gruelling day! Today may have ‘only’ been 13 miles but this section (we nicknamed it “Switchback Sunday”) through the Shropshire Hills is generally acknowledged to be the toughest of the route and the elevation gain tells you why! It shoots the previous hilliest day (the very first day!) out of the water. And it starts straight away, at least from our campsite, by heading straight up Panpunton Hill, no gentle warm up, just straight up to 365m. To put it in perspective, my highest point on the whole of Dartmoor was 467m. These hills are pretty big!
It was a soggy start too. After a fair bit of rain overnight (and lots of different owls calling too, which was beautiful!) everything was feeling rather damp. My stuff in the tent was dry (except where I managed to brush my sleeping bag across the ceiling (trying to stretch) and covered it in condensation, oops!), but the tent itself was saturated, my bag was pretty damp and the grass around was long and wet. Thankfully it at least wasn’t raining, so although everything went away pretty damp we didn’t get too wet ourselves packing up. Alison kindly boiled me some water so I could eat my instant porridge for breakfast but we realised she too was running low on fuel so we went without tea. I thought back wishfully to yesterday’s bacon and egg sandwich and coffee, but I did at least have a banana that I brought the day before, which felt like a real luxury! Fresh fruit!
The drizzle came as we finished packing up so it was waterproofs on, bags feeling extra heavy from the additional weight of soggy gear. As we headed off to meet Pascaline I munched on some oaty biscuits and sipped my daily Phytosport ‘prepare and endure’ drink – today with added fizz stick (I could feel it was going to be one of those days!) and I was glad to have company for the day ahead, especially as my phone was dead.
Pascaline looked bright and cheerful as usual and we definitely didn’t persuade her of the joys of camping, as we compared our evenings and morning! The ladies had an even longer day than me today, they had added a few miles on to cut out a day of the path, so they were keen to get going. The first hill slowed us down quickly though, as did the waterproof-removal stop when the weather decided it was going to give us a pleasant morning. After the tough climb the path levelled out to give great views back into Wales, down to Knighton and across to a beautiful viaduct in the valley. The short bit of fairly flat walking was a treat we didn’t quite appreciate fully at the time, but it felt great to be walking on the top of the world with nothing but the sky above, gentle sun and a little breeze. Memories of the soggy, phoneless, fuel-less night and morning faded away and this was going to be a stunning walk! There would have been a glorious photo opportunity of us hiking up along the edge of the ridge, but sadly I had no phone and so no means to take photos, something I’d lament often today! Thankfully Alison took a few key photos and has promised to send them to me when she finishes.
The path soon dropped a little around the head of a small valley then back up to our first trig point of the day at 405m. For a while (on the downhill stretch) I managed to keep pace with Pascaline and she told me of a wonderful Irish travel writer who has had all sorts of adventures. Her name is Dervla something and I must look her up!
We quickly came to the first major downhill, a long, steep drop to the road, and we’re treated to the onward view. Hills. Lots of them! Like giant molehills, all squeezed tightly together with tiny winding roads between them. Gulp! Deep breath and it’s up and over the first little one (still 50m up and down, thankfully not up to the 345m summit!). Then we pass a farm with the promised and welcome water tap and we decide to take our first break before tackling the next long climb up to Llanfair Hill, an ascent of about a mile along beautiful but steep sections of dyke. At one point the path was practically a scramble, up a steep rocky section on top of the dyke itself, at a 60-70 degree angle! Once at the top we managed to catch our breaths a bit as the path followed a mile or so along the top of the ridgeway where the dyke is at perhaps its most apparent, a massive earthen bank and ditch heading off over the sheep pasture-covered hill, with stunning views all around.
This was the pretty much the last flat bit of the day, and a further treat presented itself in the form of beautifully sweet wild raspberries growing abundantly along the lane for a good half mile. These gave us a nice little boost of energy to manage the long descent down to the valley below, near a little village called Newcastle which is the closest point of civilisation of the day. We resisted the temptation of a Sunday lunch in the pub as my friends’ guidebook had warned that the worst of the hills were yet to come. Instead we scrambled up the next hill and took a break at the halfway sign. Halfway!! 88.5 miles from Sedbury Cliffs and 88.5 miles to Prestatyn. This also meant I’d reached 400 miles at some point during the morning so we had some celebratory shortbread and jelly babies and contemplated our achievements while gazing out over the view.
Further on it started to spit with rain again and after a few minutes waiting to see if it would stop we opted for the waterproofs. Two minutes later it had stopped and the sun had come out again so it was another stop to take the waterproofs off again. Quite a palava, having to take a heavy pack off and back on again every 5 minutes!
Soon we came to a bit of the path I recognised – a small section I’d walked (in the opposite direction) when I did a 23 mile charity walk back in May. It was a killer of a section! A mile or so of continual up and down without a break, and not even many views as it was all mini hills within hills. The section I knew ended with a longish and very steep wooded slope which was slippery in places – I’m amazed none of us went over on our backsides! Going downhill is just as tough, if not tougher, on the legs and feet, especially when you’re tired. And we knew the moment we got to the bottom it was immediately back up the other side for the toughest, but thankfully penultimate, climb of the day. Just before the climb there is a pretty little church and the place is called churchtown, but bizarrely there is no sign of a village there, just the church and one little cottage!
As we started to climb once again the rain started to come and we repeated the pattern of sheltering under a tree for a bit, deciding to put waterproofs on, continuing to climb, rain stopping. This was getting tiresome! I think at that point we gave up and left the waterproofs on, despite it being sweltering with the steep climb. Closer to the top the wind really picked up and we were buffeted about, which at least made the waterproofs seem less of a waste of time!
One more down, and I’m really starting to feel my ankle. Then it’s the last up, which is tough but not quite as long or as steep as the previous one. Alison and I plod on up the track and she reassures me that no day on the Pennine Way was as hard as today. Thank goodness! At the top we were rewarded with expansive views out across the Vale of Montgomery – we’d made it through the Shropshire Hills! The sight of lower, level ground was beautiful, and we all looked forward to an easier walk tomorrow! Then, the final rain of the day hits and it’s a heavy one, definitely more than a quick sharp shower! But I’m so close now I just focus on hobbling down to my B&B which is only about half a mile away, not even all the way down the hill! Pascaline and Alison decided to call it a day as they still had miles to go and were as tired and wet as me, so they came with me to my B&B to call a taxi. My lovely B&B host’s husband offered to drive them to their B&B! It sadly meant it was time to say goodbye to them, after the last few days of walking and camping with them, and I knew I was going to miss them! But we’ve swapped details and I might even join Alison for a bit of a 3 month walk through Europe she is doing next year 🙂
Thankfully my host Ceinwen has an iPad so I’m able to charge my phone finally, phew! She also makes me a proper pot of tea served in china cups and a big slice of homemade barrabrith slathered in butter. Amazing! It feels like a real treat to be back in a B&B and I quickly fill the room with my slightly damp gear, hanging it where I can to dry off. It’s amazing how much stuff comes out of my bag, I’m always amazed at how much I actually manage to fit in there!
I’m tired but warm, clean (although looking forward to doing some laundry tomorrow) and dry and I am making the most of the tea, hot chocolate and biscuits in the room. I’m feeling pretty chuffed at having covered over 400 miles, reaching the halfway point of Offa’s Dyke and surviving the toughest day, now about a third of the way through my entire trip. I’ve now been walking for four weeks which feels crazy! It’s going so quickly!
Tomorrow I have a shorter, flatter day, with just one long climb at the end. Weather is supposed to be pretty much the same, but I’ve been so lucky so far I don’t think I can complain!
Night night! Xx