Offa's Dyke

We had walked 134 miles. There was only 43 to go but today we made the decision to stop: Andrea has contracted something that we need to sort out and it's easier to do that at home rather than let it get worse whilst we continue to walk to Prestatyn. Chirk has a railway station and that made it considerably easier to get back to the Midlands. Chirk station is an unmanned station with some fanatical gardeners who make the place look wonderful. It was a very easy journey home and unlike Knighton or Welshpool it has 2 tracks !!! So my thoughts on Offa's Dyke (so far): We need to go back to finish it - we are both disappointed The route is strange because it misses many towns that naturally should be on route The walk is not for the faint hearted - The Switchback is particularly hard The few people you meet are very nice - there are far fewer than the Coast to Coast Some of the bed and breakfasts are outstanding as are the pubs It is primarily a walk through farming c...

Summary Offa's Dyke has a habit of avoiding big towns (well small towns really) such as Montgomery, Oswestry and Chirk. So the day that was meant to be 13 miles, ended up at 16 because we had to walk off track to Chirk. The day consisted of most things, ups, downs, views, woods, roads, tracks and bridleways. It was a lovely day in the 20's ie hot for walking with no stopping points. It is fair to say we found it tough. It took us 9 hours. Longer version The day (as usual) started with a climb out of Llanymynech and up by a disused limestone quarry (that closed after WWI). Interestingly the owner in 1840 decided to blow the rock face with 4 times the normal dynamite - he did get a lot of rock down, but he lost money overall because the explosion also destroyed many local roofs. Either way, there was a great view at the top of the Severn Valley ie where we had walked yesterday. We left the cow country of the Severn valley and went back to sheep farmers with woodlands. ...

Summary This was a blatant rest day: a mere 10 miles on the flat flood plain of the Severn, oh and next to a canal. I think the total climbing was less than 100ft and we finished at 2.15. Bliss. The one thing you can see on this stretch is cows, lots of cows. There is the Dyke but its probably only 3 ft tall rather than the drama in the uplands. Most of the walk is on the Severn flood defence bank, the aim of which is to push the flood water further down the valley rather than flooding the flood plain - a decision of genius here but maybe not for Tewksbury etc further down the Severn 😒 Longer version We set off on a lovely overcast day full of the great breakfast (and previous evening meal ) at Tynilwyn Farm - Jane is certainly a good cook. I say overcast is lovely because frankly its been at times too hot to walk miles The day starts with crossing yet another single track railway line - what is around here. Maybe the line from Knighton ends up in Welshpool This was the most...

Summary After the 3,400 feet of climbing yesterday, this was a breeze. Only 1,400 feet and 14 miles or so. The route is weird because it avoids Montgomery (which is supposedly very pretty), and also Welshpool. Who ever devised this National Trail had no idea about commercialism or Tourism. No wonder we meet more Europeans doing it than British people. Officially the route also avoided Forden but we deviated to it because it was lunchtime and had a pub. Tonight we are staying at another farm - Tynilwyn Farm - which is excellent. Longer version The route starts off straight as die across the Vale of Montgomery. It is full of farms growing a mixture of crops (wheat / sweetcorn) or animals (cattle and sheep) but little else. The route is flat and the going good. We met a few Germans walking the other way but generally we saw no one. We covered the miles really quickly to the point that when 12.30 came we were ahead of our mental schedule, plus Forden had a pub !  We should have ...

Summary Some people may have heard of Knighton - it has a train line for instance - but no one will have heard of Cwn. To say it is a hamlet would be to say Harpenden or Consett are cities. But it was a thankful end point to the hardest day so far. This stage is generally known as a switchback but actually rollercoaster would be a better description especially the second part. The owner of the George and Dragon said the walk out of Knighton was harder than the walk out of Kington, and he was right. I cannot say there was anything notable on the walk apart from my feeble body is starting to feel the fatigue. BUT WE HAVE PASSED HALF WAY 😎 Longer version Clock towers are all the rage in this part of Britain. I am not sure if it was a way to get the workers to work on time or just a status symbol but Knighton had a pretty impressive one. It is also the only town that seems to have truly embraced the Offa's Dyke ie it has a visitors centre ! After the lung busting walk out of K...

Summary Kington has a walking festival on the 3rd week of Sept. I just hope they improve the number of food outlets because there wasn't a lot to chose from - Thank goodness for the Oxford Arms and its home cooking (£10 for a steak and a pint). The morning to Knighton starts almost immediately with a 200 metre climb. The views at the top are spectacular and guess what, we found the Dyke again. In fact we found a lot of the Dyke - it must have been massive is 800AD. Longer version Amazingly after a rather huge climb out of Kington, we came across this herd of cows at the top of the hill. We didn't think the grazing was particularly good but they were very inquisitive and wanted to see us so I thought they deserved a photo 😃 Close up, cows are surprisingly large - probably why they create 16% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Soon after the cows we got lost 😕 Generally the Offa's Dyke Path is very well sign-posted. But when we neared Herrock Hill we got into a fern...

Summary The best day so far. Great (no, stunning) views, relatively easy walking, quite a few fellow walkers and most importantly, our feet are getting use to 14 miles a day. We walked on Hergest Ridge - remember Mike Oldfield (yes Hergest Ridge was the title of his second album): he lived in Kington ! We have now walked 68 miles and are over a third of the way: level with Worcester. Longer Version This part of the country is very under-rated, well in my opinion: we saw a large 4 bed detached house for sale at £500k. The people have time for a chat and there are lots of independent shops. Hay-on-Wye is definitely worth a day trip.  Any way we walked away from the Wye, heading north into sheep country. Clock Tower in Hay on Wye It is very much rolling countryside with tall hedges, irregular fields and lots of tree. The walking is easy, only 4 stiles and the weather was cloudy but good. The villages are small and frankly had no shops or pubs. The only refreshments on route ...

Summary When one sees the mists on the hill tops and one know you need to get back up there, then one can start the day with a bit of a heavy heart. We started the day with a 1,200 foot climb to get back on the Offa's Dyke (not that there is any sign of the Dyke - well what idiot would build one on top of the moor ?). The weather was blustery and a tad wet as we walked through moorland and bog. There were a surprising number of horses too. The walk down was ok if a bit slippy. Hay On Wye has loads of book shops and supposedly a festival in May. It also seems to love food: we ate at the Swan Hotel that was delightful. Horses on the moor - strange but true Longer version If you ever stay at Long Town then be warned, to get back up to the ridge, you have to climb and climb. Hardly the greatest start to the day. But we got there - no there isn't a road. Once on the ridge we felt the full force of the rain and the wind. It has no places to hide. Why the horses do not run ...

It's one of those first world things, that one just assumes everywhere has Broadband. Well in deepest Gloucestershire they don't !!! Hence no blog written after the walk - I took solace in 3 pints of Otter Ale and a great Lamb and Leek pie at the Crown Inn 😉 Summary We are deep in sheep and cattle country. A patch work quilt of hedgerows, trees and lush green fields. Not that we could spend a lot of time sight seeing because we had 14 miles to cover plus a rather large climb on to the ridge. Its easy to forget this is a rugged country - we met a sheep farmer who lost over 100 lambs due to a snow storm on 2nd March this year. Andrea fell immediately in love with his collie 😊 The views from the ridge were superb - we could even see the Severn Estuary. Longer version  The Old Rectory B&B was excellent (apart from the smallest TV in history) and the pub down the road fantastic. So we set off full through horses and passed a do-it-up project: it wasn't the onl...

Summary Good weather, great views and a bit of everything on the walk today including some other walkers ! Not many mind you. The only thing that was missing was Offa's Dyke. Heaven knows where it went but where ever it was, it wasn't near us. That didn't bother us. We had plenty to see and do and there wasn't a single stile over the whole 18 miles. A great advert for Wales. This is the Naval Temple, overlooking Monmouth, where Admiral Nelson had dinner in 1802 with Lady Hamilton. Longer version As we are getting use to already on Offa's Dyke the day starts with an up. The great thing was that it was sunny with almost blue skies. So up through the quiet by-lanes to the Naval Temple built in the C18th to be a place where Naval officers could entertain. We then headed down to Monmouth. As you probably know it has a very famous boys school. It was also the birth place of Henry V - Agincourt and "Once more to the breach dear friends"; a rousing yarn ...

Summary Forget the guide book that says a moderate day, forget the city dwellers target of 10,000 steps, this is a big intro to a long walk. Made worse by hot humid conditions that made us both glow a tad 😓 Ok it was officially only 14 miles, but that included 90 floors of climbing and nearly 40,000 steps, mainly through old wood lands. But after 1,200 years you can easily see in parts the dyke that defended Mercia from the "Welsh". I kept expected to see Ned Stark or Aragon to come walking out of the mists. At the end we ended up in Inglewood B&B with marrow cake (surprisingly nice) Longer version The BBC weather forecast predicted a full day of rain. We therefore chomped our way through a good hearty breakfast at Woodfields before setting out in full wet weather gear. Be warned if you expect a shop to be open early in Chepstow on a Sunday then think again. We found the glamorous Tesco's garage and amused the customer whilst struggling to take off our over trou...

Start 177 miles from the finish - so realistically you can't take the car.. Train was the only option.  In the past I have been to the 1960's edifice known as New Street Station in Birmingham and thought it was a dark concrete dump. BUT wow it is now so much better - bathed in natural light, a vibrant eating place that is a credit to Birmingham. Yes its still a railway station but amazing - opened last year. New Street Station roof Alas the trains were not on time but everyone was really helpful and we got to Chepstow at about 4 with lots of rain. Overall it's cute, old and has history. The castle was started in 1067 ! The Woodfield Arms - where we are staying - built in 1648 (English Civil War) and guess where JK Rowling was born (as in Harry Potter) - yes Chepstow !!! Although it was raining we walked down to the Severn Estuary so we have done the first 2 miles of the route. 😇 Oh and I would recommend the Shangri-la chinese in Chepstow. In fact Chepstow for o...

Just like last time, we haven't yet packed. The blistering heat of 30C in the UK has receded and we are now in the more pleasant low 20C with rain gusting in from the Atlantic. It's pretty obvious that we are going to need wet weather gear but also T-shirts and shorts - a mixed bad  It's an amazing fact that we are going to cross the English Welsh border 20 times over the next 2 weeks. Andrea has also told me that we are climbing over 25,000 ft. It isn't as high as the Coast to Coast but certainly its not the flat lands of the Fens (in Cambridgeshire). So 2 days to go and my work colleagues are already getting bored by my holiday comments  😀 So off to Chepstow on Saturday to the north bank of the Severn Estuary. Think Bristol and go north.

After a break last year, we have decided yet again to embark on another long distance walk. This one combines history with walking: the attempt in the 8th Century by King Offa, King of Mercia, to keep out the Welsh by building a 177 mile dyke (and fence). Its now the longest ancient monument in the UK I believe. And shorter than the Coast to Coast. Like all walls in, for instance the Great Wall of China or more recently the Berlin Wall, it failed in the long run but maybe cattle rustling declined in C8th. But it now offers a national trail walk (1 of 15) in the UK going from Chepstow in the south to Prestatyn in the north (or vice versa). I think it will be a great adventure. And now of course we know what, and what not to take. So bring it on. This is the route: The only worry I now have is the heat and sun screen. How did we end up with the hottest summer in Britain since 1976. Not that I want rain but surely 30C is for the Med rather than the rolling hills of England / Wales. S...