Total miles: 14.3
Elevation gain: 1,670 ft
Time walking: 11am – 6pm
Miles to date: 426.4
Today started with an amazing breakfast! Always a good way to start the day! I slept so well last night after three nights of camping and some tough walking and I woke up to the gorgeous view over the Vale of Montgomery out towards the hills in the distance. After some tea in my room while catching up on my blog I headed down to breakfast and my, what a spread! Cereals, yoghurts, fruit, all sorts, and then a delicious full English. The most exciting thing though was the marmite and the Nutella! I probably ate a bit too much toast but yuuum! Ceinwen was a lovely host and I’d definitely stay there again, it was a little bit of luxury. I even got to meet two of her gorgeous granddaughters who were charming young girls with pretty Welsh names.
After donning my now dry gear I headed off, for once downhill to start with! The path quickly joined the dyke itself again as it headed down past Mellington Hall. Just a note if anyone reading this plans to walk the route and stay or eat there… despite making a big deal of the fact they are right on the path there isn’t actually any access from the path (and some big signs warning you not to cross the fence!) except right at the end of a very long drive which would make it a very long round trip to get there and back! The path passes through pleasant woodland though and I was glad of the shelter of the trees as the first shower of the day passed overhead.
Crossing over the bridge at Brompton it was back into England, a crossing I’d make several times today as the path and the dyke follow the true line of the border for several miles. Often I’d be walking with one foot in England, the other in Wales, sometimes crossing from country to country when the path switched sides over the dyke. Aside from that amusement the path wasn’t terribly interesting for a few miles, it followed a very straight line through fields and although the level walking made a pleasant break from yesterday’s ups and downs it made for very few good views.
Passing the market town of Montgomery a mile to the west, with its ruined castle up on the hill, I decided not to take the detour into the town as I wanted to press on and I didn’t really need anything. Although I did see a sign advertising the official Offa’s Dyke path beer which would have been tempting had I been a beer drinker!
Leaving Montgomery behind and heading for the first tiny hills of the day the black clouds started to roll in, looking spectacular over the plain but indicating that I was probably going to get wet soon! Thankfully I made it halfway up the hill and to the shade of a big old oak tree before it came, and after 5 minutes of waiting to see if it would pass, when the raindrops started to make their way through the canopy, I finally relented and donned the waterproofs.
The waterproofs came off again half an hour later, only to be back on again 5 minutes after that. I keep thinking I should just put up with walking with the waterproofs on, but when it is not raining they quickly get hot and steamy, especially with a 20kg pack on your back!
The only real bit of note along that little section, other than the waterproof dilemma, was being chased across a field by a herd of sheep. I don’t think they were chasing me away, I think they were pleased to see me! Perhaps they thought I had food or something, but the moment they saw me they all pelted towards me baa-ing and ran right up to me, trying to come through the gate with me. I have to say, I much prefer being chased by sheep than by cows! They bleated after me longingly as I made my way into the next field, and I felt sorry that I wasn’t the bearer of food that day.
Half a mile out of Forden the path finally started to climb properly as it made its way into the woods of the Leighton Estate. It was pretty much a mile of forest paths which levelled out after the first climb. Approaching the head of a valley I spotted a young pheasant scuttling out of my way, and then another. Aww, how cute, I thought! Then I rounded the corner and was faced with hundreds of young pheasants all suddenly dashing for cover every which way. Like, seriously hundreds! There were pheasants everywhere! On the path in front of me, dashing up the bank beside me, scrambling up crumbling rock faces, diving down the bank on the opposite side, leaping off a bridge and attempting to fly away. I clearly had come across a pheasant farm but I have never seen so many in one place…it had the makings of some sort of low-budget, pheasant-themed horror movie!
Leaving the pheasants behind, the path continued past a serene little lake then out onto a tiny road where it started to climb up the remainder of the hill. Eventually the path comes out into the open and the tree covered Iron Age hill fort – The Beacon Ring – comes into view, shortly followed by stunning views to either side. At the top an information board informs me that one side of the view is England, the other is Wales. Amusingly, it is beautifully sunny in England and cloudy and rainy in Wales! In between rain clouds the mountains of Snowdonia are silhouetted on the horizon and they look very majestic. Part of me wishes I was headed that way as there is always something incredibly inspiring about walking towards something so visible in the distance, and Snowdonia is somewhere I definitely haven’t explored enough yet! But, for now, that adventure will just have to wait for another day.
The climb of the day complete, it’s time to head down down down towards the Severn plain (I’m trying to figure out where I must have crossed the River Severn to get back to the eastern side, but haven’t worked it out yet!) to my finishing point for the day at Buttington. My toes and ankle are feeling the downhill and my boots are quite wet so I’m looking forward to getting them off. I make it only a few minutes before I’m due to be picked up which is a good thing as the pub wasn’t open yet!
Staying with my friend Rhian tonight and she took me out for a massive pub dinner. I had roasted belly pork and mashed potato with a whole heap of vegetables. Amazing! Only a short walk tomorrow and then a rest day, yippee!
Night night x
