LEJOG
Distance walked – 26.4km (16.5miles)
Total Distance – 591.3km (369.5miles)
Grand piano
Reed and pipe organ
Glockenspiel
Plus, tubular bells
Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells (Part 1)
Richard Booth’s Famous Bookshop
We spent our rest day yesterday, (after washing clothes and restocking provisions), looking around Hay-on-Wye. It is a fascinating and picturesque market town renowned for its Literary Festival and its plethora of bookshops.
We were lucky to be joined in the afternoon and evening by our old friends Tony and Louise (and Dusty the dog) who also stayed on as our guest walkers today. We had a great time catching up over lunch and dinner and spent the afternoon walking around the town looking at some of the shops.
Hay Castle
We met at 8:30 this morning, outside their hotel to set off on our penultimate day on Offa’s Dyke path. Our guidebook promised us a smorgasbord of walking delights, and so it turned out.
Ready to go
Riverside Path
We started off with an easy and delightful riverside walk along the Wye River, passing a ‘glamping’ campsite, the safari tents on platforms looking somewhat incongruous in the green spring Welsh wood. We eventually bade farewell to the Wye (we will not be walking alongside it again) and set off across some fields, the path for once being very well marked.
Which way??
After the usual fields, cows and short road walk that occur when leaving a town, we climbed up into a wonderful section of woodland, and were treated again to bluebells and masses of spring flowers. Our guidebook promised us the drumming of great spotted woodpeckers, we were instead treated to the roar and whine of a distant chainsaw, the crack of a falling tree disappointingly not preceded by a cry of ‘timber’.
The path was very muddy after the rain of the last two days. We slipped and slid our way up and down until eventually emerging into a green lane, its sides closely bordered by ancient dry-stone walls and hedgerows.
Muddy green lane
The views of the surrounding rolling border country were beautiful, and we could see back to the Black Mountains that we had crossed two days ago, and forward to our next destination, the remote hamlet of Newchurch, nestled in a narrow valley below us.
View from green lane
The way on was a treacherous mud-field, but luckily the worst parts had been bypassed by some long stretches of boardwalk. We have found Offa’s Dyke path to be really well looked after with excellent infrastructure and path upkeep.
Over the mud
We arrived in Newchurch and found our way to the eponymous Church where, as our guidebook suggested, there was tea, coffee, and biscuits on offer for walkers. As we walked into the church, we saw several people already ensconced in the dry, one of whom greeted me with a hearty ‘Nigel!’.
It was Chris, a fellow LEJOGger we had last met outside of Clovelly in Devon over ten days ago! How amazing to meet up again. We had all set off on the same day, April 18th, so long ago. We discussed the path so far, including our joint dislike of the South West Coast path, and our future plans and route. He had fallen in with a group of Offa’s Dyke walkers, so we bade him farewell as he set off with them.
We stayed to enjoy the tea/coffee and biscuits (including dark chocolate digestives) on offer, before leaving a donation and praising the Lord on the way out.
Seriously though, we have really appreciated the charity of these churches that offer refreshment on the path. It also seems such a simple way for them to raise revenue to preserve these architectural marvels that are present in every village in Britain.
We also felt that we were invoking the ancient practice of pilgrimage, as we all sat in the church, swapping tales of our journeys, before departing on our ways.
Disgwylfa descent
Fron Newchurch, the path climbed up Disgwylfa Hill, to a summit point, at a height of 380m, with wide ranging views all around, before descending over open moorland. It was here we decided to stop for lunch, as the sun was shining brightly, and we were all feeling quite hungry. True to British form, the moment we had sat down, squally rain appeared from nowhere. We made the best of it, huddled over our cheese wraps and salt and vinegar crisps. We then packed up and walked on and down to the village of Gladestry.
Along Hergest Ridge
The final ascent of the day was the best as we slowly gained the broad turf covered path along the top of Hergest Ridge. Hergest Ridge is famed as the title of the second album by Mike Oldfield, the follow-up to Tubular Bells. He lived in the area and drew inspiration from walking on the ridge.
It is a truly awe-inspiring walk, with amazing views all around. The highest point also, unexpectedly, possessed a grove of Monkey Puzzle trees, that stood out in the otherwise treeless expanse of the broad summit ridge.
Monkey Puzzle portrait
As we descended into Kington, Dusty the dog continued to lead the way, tired but indefatigable after 26km (probably twice that far as she ran forward and backwards all day). We finally arrived at the Royal Oak pub, our accommodation for tonight, where the bar was full of people and dogs, and Dusty was treated as a long-lost friend, returned from a journey to a far way land (well all the way from Hay at least).
It was a great day walking with Tony and Louise, and we farewelled them with sadness and thanked them for joining us on this leg of our journey.
Arriving in Kington
Today’s route
5 Responses
How wonderful to catch-up with you both. Lovely walk and my feet don’t ache as much as I thought they would!xx
You can come and do another day with us then! Loved seeing you all xxx
Really enjoy reading of your adventures, and made all the better by hearing of the strange and wonderful people you meet along the way, oops, by that I mean long lost friends🤣.
Hopefully we can catch up with both T& l later this year during our visit.
Keep up the good work team, it’s so inspiring 🥰
Yay for Tony and Lou and Dusty! Thinking of you all xx
Dusty is certainly a cutie!