Category: Offa’S Dyke Trail

This was definitely  our easiest day with us arriving before 2 pm for the first time, so    we managed to finish on a high. Highlights for the day were:

I have now walked the length of Wales  -285 km in 13 days.

Final thoughts on this walk.

We both agreed that we hadn’t really enjoyed this walk. It is supposed to be one of the tougher long walks in the UK, and my lack of fitness at the start didn’t help with my enjoyment score.

However, both Kay and I have many long walks to compare it with, most of them much more challenging paths than this one.  We both feel we can honestly say it was a bit boring and not very exciting. Walking over sheep farms doesn’t really do it for us.

One day we met a couple of local men  when we were sheltering from the wind and resting from the relentless hills.

They asked us how we were enjoying the Offa’s Dyke and we both replied that we were not really liking it that much. Their snarky reply was that we should have just gone for a walk around Liverpool.

We didn’t think that was appropriate but weren’t quick enough with a retort. Later we discussed how we have both walked 3,000km the length of New Zealand, walked all the Great Walks of New Zealand, and many more tracks there. Add in 1,000km Bibbulmun Track and 6 weeks in Patagonia, Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea and a number of European Caminos between us. We reckon we have plenty to compare Offa’s Dyke  with. Quite frankly, it is has come out quite low on our scale.

Never the less I did enjoy the little villages, the funny looking livestock, the friendly people who all had a NZ connection, the views of the  patchwork fields, and the canals.  The cheesy chips and full English Breakfasts were yummy too.

I had the best night’s sleep ever. The sun doesn’t go down until about 10 pm, and we are settled for sleep usually by 8 pm, so I sleep with an eye mask on. Awake at 4.30 am, and it is bright daylight, so roll over, pull the mask back on, and tell my brain that it is still the middle of the night. I sleep on.

I  woke to see that there had been some light drizzle so our tents were wet. Kay had already been up and had her breakfast so I quickly got packed up and scoffed some gingernut biscuits. They are a similar flavor to our NZ ones but not quite so hard. Better for old teeth  I think.

We walked a couple of kms to a village hoping to get a coffee but we were too early.

We had a total of 1,090 metres of climb today over 30 km so we were planning on finding a camping spot half way along.

We climbed about 5 Moels, which we think is Welsh for hills. They definitely are not mountains out of miel hills but are long, steep climbs.

This was a day when the hills just kept coming. One after the other, relentless climbing. Kay is faster up the hills than I am so I plod along behind her. You will notice that she is ahead of me in most photos. I am faster downhill, so catch up by the time we get to the bottom. Then she gets ahead again.

We met the teachers with the Duke of Ed kids at a couple of parking areas we passed through. The kids were way behind us. We are proud of ourselves. We can still do the hard stuff better than the young ones.

We als9 met quite a few days walkers, with their dogs, of course.

The highlights of the day were supposed to be yet another decrepit castle, a few piles of rocks, and a couple of plaques. People have lived up on these moors since the Iron Age.

Actually, when I am huffing up a hill, chest and legs burning, feet sore, wind blowing a gale, I don’t really give a damn about all that old stuff.

No suitalke camping spot was found, but we did find a place to dry out our wet tents while we rested.

After about 9 hours of steep ups and downs we made the final steep descent into Bodfari.

We both had sore feet and had ready to call it a day about 3 hours ago, but there was no camping anywhere.

Then Kay, being a sheep farming girl,  heard the sound of a shearing shed in action. So we made a detour into the farm to have a nosey.

Again, our Kiwi accents were welcomed, and we heard all about their stud sheep and farm dog trial competions. We watched the funny sheep being shorn. They only have a herd of 200 and sell them for breeding. One of their relatives had recently become the worlds best shearer,  beating the New Zealanders, which is unusual.  They were very proud, and Kay had brightened up after chatting with them. I was just pleased to have a rest.

We hobbled the last 45 minutes into town heading for the pub that we had been told a number of times served very good food.

However it was a very posh restaurant and people were arriving in all their finery, making us feel very conscious of our  dirty, smelly state. Kay wouldn’t even step inside,  so I ventured in alone  and asked about accommodation.

The nice young girl took one look and wiff of me and suggested the campground across the road. She said they did welcome walkers in their posh establishment which pleased me as the food smelt so good, and the beer taps were calling me.

We were both a bit grumpy and too tired  to have a shower with the 10cm square piece of towel we carry.  So we  just washed the most smelly  of our body parts and changed into some slightly cleaner clothes.

Then we waddled up to  have a plate of cheesy chips and a drink. We were seated in a little table in a corner close by the door. We knew our place.

  This was our last night on trail.

We packed up and left our Summer House by 7.30am pleased not to be packing up our tents.

The day was varied with flat paths alongside a canal, a cafe stop, a walk across the worlds highest aqueduct, and  along more country roads underneath high limestone cliffs

We stopped fir a coffee at a cafe in  converted church. I ordered the scone with jam and cream, but I think I could match those scones, which is not saying much. However, a seat and a toilet are always appreciated when out on damn long walks.

We walked quite close to a working castle, but the trail didn’t take us there, much to my disappointment.

A car following us up a very steep narrow hill,  stopped to compliment me on my calf muscles. The driver got out and dropped his long pants to show me his calfs, saying I had put him to shame. It is not very often I get compliments on my legs, so I took it with pride.

The 3 young guys were camping up the top for the night. They invited us to camp with them and share their drinks and fire. Bugger, it was too early for us to stop, so we waved them on.

We had been meeting  up with groups of school kids from Liverpool doing their Duke of Edinburgh overnight hike. They were laden down with huge packs that had more stuff hanging off the backs of them. I do feel sorry for them knowing I am only carrying about half of what they are even though we have the same needs. I fixed up one poor girls pack as it was hanging to one side and flapping about.

We had planned to do the next 3 days over 4 days instead as they were all about 28-30km days. However, like yesterday we were only a couple of kms from the end before we found a good campsite.

We took a road route today rather than go off up and under the high cliffs, crossing scouring.  We both decided we had done enough of that on Te Araroa. We could hear the kids up there chatting away while we went up and down and around on a very narrow country lane.

This was where we had hoped to find a camping spot, but there was a 12km long organic farm that made it quite clear that we were not welcome. So we carried on across some wet moors and forest;  neither good for camping.

At 5pm we found a nice flat paddock and sat in the sun and cooked our dinner. We  had a visit from the farmer and he just gave us a friendly wave so put up our tents and  enjoyed the sun, being watched by some more funny looking sheep. We had walked 28 km that day, had some decent stops,  and taken 9 hours. I had a really good sleep.

After 3 nights inside we were planning on camping tonight. Our breakfast of croissants and pastries  fruit and yoghurt was left out in the bar for us. We couldn’t eat it all so we had lunch as well. $70 each for the room and a good breakfast was our cheapest so far.

Old Mary has been our most expensive at $120 but she gave us dinner, afternoon tea, breakfast, a cut lunch and a  tour along with pick up and drop off at the pub and years of history and gossip. Best value for money.

There was some distractions on the day but mostly it was farm walking which is quite hard underfoot and boring for us kiwis.

We wanted to be at camp by 2pm if possible but the day jist went on an on up hills, down dales, across paddocks with no flat areas at all.

We had both just about lost the will to live when we saw an old man in his garden so hobbled over to him. Two old Grannies desperately needed a spot to camp for the night.

Recognising our NZ accents and told us we had come to the right place. Two of his children live in New Zealand, so they visit regularly. Nearly everyone we meet has a child, or sister or nephew who lives in New Zealand.  Many have had holidays over there, some numerous times. We are so privileged to be New Zealanders. Many comment on how lovely our Jacinda was. 

So our accent, and absolutely shattered states gets us inside for a cup of tea and a chat with Richard and, yes, another Mary, as well as their visiting family.

They offer us their  Summer House to sleep in.

I could have kissed them all but I was far too smelly.

So we had a good end to a long hard day.

We left our Stone House in drizzle and spent the day feeling like strippers at a nightclub. Clothes on, clothes off all day.

This was my best outfit.

We walked along a canal which is always easy walking as it is flat

I found the house I want to live in. I would need a gardener and a handyman though.

We finished the reasonably easy day at another small village that did not offer up any free camping spots. The first pub had a cheap room and nice South African landlady. We climbed  3 flights of stairs and then found  out there was no internet so went across the road (and the boarder to England) to another pub.

Here, we met a rowdy group on a stag party pub crawl. The best man was from Christchurch, NZ and insisted on photis with us and the handsome groom to be. They thought we were amazing walking this far and wanted to buy us drinks.

I must be getting old and tired as I turned them down in favour of a hot shower and a lay on a bed.

We decided to take a detour through the Medieval  town of Montgomery on our way to Welshpool as rain was predicted for today, into the evening. We both like to camp, but putting up tents and taking them down in the rain is no fun.

We had a nice walk into yet another quaint Welsh village with another ruined castle on the hill above it. 

I don’t think there is any town in New Zealand that has the same kind of charm and character that these villages have. I just keep thinking that this is just like TV; as though I am walking through a movie set.

The walk was flat, and the farming mostly crops; wheat, maize, and barley.

I was pleased not to be walking through sheep shit.

I still get stunned by the beauty  of a village in the distance. Always rows of little stone cottages, a church or two with steeples calling to us as well as a ruined castle on the hill behind. The villages usually sprung up to service the castle.

It was beginning to rain so we made our way into a little cafe cum Post Office  with some difficulty because of the small doorway, tiny room and our large packs.  Molly did everything and as the 2 tables filled up we moved chairs and gear to let the next people fit in. There was an elderly couple on a road trip, another couple squashed in with their motor bike gear and  a couple of local men,  one with a dog that barked at me.  Molly was swamped, so the dog owner got up and helped carry coffees out with very trembling hands, so they only got  half a cup.

We saw our Monk across the street and gave him a call, so he squashed in as well. Now there are 9 people and a dog in an area the size of my kitchen.

The Monk received a free cup of coffee without even taking his bowl out, making me think about becoming a monk too.  The locals told us that our plan to walk to the bigger market town of Welshpool was not a good one.  Road too narrow and traffic too fast.

For about $3 we could take a bus.  Good idea, we thought and paud for the monk to join us.

While we waited for the bus we walked up another damn steep hill to have a look around another damn old pile of rocks. This castle was commenced around 1223 under the orders of Henry VIII because a Welsh prince was getting a bit stroppy. During the First English Civil War, it was the site of the largest battle in Wales on 17 September 1644; the walls were slighted after the Second English Civil War in 1649 to prevent the castle being used again.

I want to see a castle that is still being used. These old relics are magnificent and do make me marvel at the engineering and physical work that went into building them. I imagine what it would have been like living there. However, I’d rather see one for real.

Maybe I”ll give Queen Camilla a call and see if she has some spare time for a Kiwi visitor when I get back to London.

We had booked at The Stone House for the night in Welshpool This made me think that all the houses are stone houses in Wales so it was not  a very imaginative name.

The lovely gentleman greeted us and took us upstairs (of course) to a nice room with tea and coffee and a tiny bathroom.  A full cooked breakfast would be served downstairs in the morning at 7.30am. I could get used to a 3 course breakfast!! Better get camping again with porridge and coffee being the only things on the menu.

We showered and changed into our least worn clothes, then took everything else down to the laundrette for a proper wash and dry. Clean clothes do smell nice.

We did a food top up and found half-price salads for our dinner and half-price sandwiches for tomorrow’s lunch. A bottle of cider and a bag of chips were enjoyed while I caught up on Coronation Street. That program seems very real as I spend my days walking along cobbled streets lined with 2 story brick houses.

Supposedly the hardest day, and yes, it was hard but totally ok.

Our notes said it was a day of switchbacks, which to us  meant a path that winds back and forth across and up a hill.  However, a Wlesh swithback means staight up then down the other side of a steep hill. There were quite a few that I followed Kay up that day.

The rain came in about 1ish as we expected but it was only light. However, the wind was strong.  We wore our black raincoats and rain  pants  with  orange plastic ponchos over top, we looked like a couple going to a fancy dress party as mandarims.

Not fancying tenting after a bug day we had booked into a Bnb right on the trail. We were  treated like royalty for £48.50  ( Mary was £60).

Newpaper to stuff our wet shoes, a heater to hang our wet weather gear over, hot drinks in front of a fire, shower with nice smelling soaps and shampoo.

There was a hot water cupboard to dry our clothes. We also had a decanter of sherry in our room and a good variety of hot drinks.  Our breakfast was superb, 3 courses.

I took the dinner option of salmon, veges and salad.  It was fine dining.

There is obviously a huge amount of competition in the bnb market as they all really try hard to impress waiting on us hand and foot.  Neither Jay nor I really need so much fuss but this us what one gets here. No complaints.

About 26km mostly over rolling farmland crossing narrow country lanes.

We started the day in England for the first time for a while. A coffee was only £1.90 compared to £4.50 in Wales. The day ended in Wales.

The last few kms in the day were hard as we tired but I am now  feeling much fitter and happier.

We rush up very steep streets, which is not fair after a long day, to get to the Offas Dyke  Information Centre before 5 to find it rarely opens and when it does it is from 10-4. Stupid times as that is when walkers are out walking.

We did a bit of food  shopping, followed by a Kebab dinner,  then we put up our tents in a field of sheep on the trail just out of town.

Lots of people oit walking their dogs, passed us with friendly smiles. It seems everyone has a dog, and they take them everywhere they go. They are allowed in the  shops, pubs, and restaurants, boats  bikes, and rarely do we see anyone out without a dog on tow.

Admittedly, they are mostly small, well-behaved doggies. We see few children or signs of them.

Our camp spot

Another good days wslking. We found two churches that were open and welcomed weary walkers. Kettles for hot drinks and biscuits and chocolaye bard were on offer along with a comfy pew and a few quiet words with God.

On trail today we met Bob from Perth and the Monk again and saw our first mole, albiet it dead one. They are smaller than I imagined.

It was another nice 26km  walk  to Kington without getting lost too much.

We had planned on sleeping at the old race course just before the town of Kington. I had slept in the Hokitika Racecourse but Kay hadn’t had such an  experience  yet however  as the last race was in about 1885, there was nothing left to see, let alone shelter under. No doubt the locals had pilferred all the stones there too.

So we carried on into town planning on a church yard or the sports grounds for our camp spot. We found out later that the Monk had a good camp spot at the sports grounds.

The church came first and was more than adequate.   We slept in a church grounds along side their compost bins Another St Marys.  We were near a tap and were able to catch the last of the sun for the day as we  cooked our noodle dinners. I had some minestone soup  mixed into mine tonighy for a nice change. We carried a bench seat over to sit and enjoy the evening before our 7.30 bedtime. 9 hours of walking means we are ready by then.

A few dog walkers came by after we retired and as we packed up in the morning. They were quite accepting of us being there.

Mary managed to drop us back at the trail without hitting anything and without giving either of us a heart attack. She had fed us a “full English breakfast” and given us ingredientd to make a sandwich for our lunch. We both passed on the ham as it was a bit slimey anf had an October use by date. Even I don’t push iy that far!

We walked across the Black Mountains on a well defined path and as we now expect, past a ruined castle. I had been wondering where all the stonedms go that fall from the castle as it decays.

Apparently the people in the surrounding villages pilfer them to build their houses and barns etc. Good recycling there.

England was to out right and Wales to our left.

We had a couple of stops as it was quite a climb up, then along these moutains.

At our second stop,  Kay had just taken her shoes off to air her feet when the clouds opened and it began hailing. I took off at as much speed as a Granny can do with a pack on her back, to get out from under thst cloud.  Kay caught up shortley,  a bit worse for the wear.

There were many wild horses up there, all goid and healthy looking. They also had good bowel habits and today I learnt from Kay that  horses prefer to shit in the same place if they can. Hence they keep their grazing and resting areas clean. So there were large piles of less frequent droppings to walk  around than we were used to. Sheep and cattle just shit anywhere and  everywhere.

We met a physio from my home town Palmerston North today. We also met up again with a young Monk who we had come across a few times. He is walking the length of UK visiting monastries on the way.  We could tell he wanted to keep our company but we were too slow for him.

At about 4pm we hobbled into Hay-on-Wye after a 26km day.  This is the world’s first booktown, with an annual bookfair  which we missed, and 22 bookshops which we also chose to walk straight past. We had full packs and no additional energy to carry books. 

Our home for the night was built in 1623, originally  owned by a lawyers family. We had to watch our heads as the ceilings and doors were very low.

The landlady also ran the  bookshop that was downstairs. Her family are rich landowners and she was born, one of 9 childten, in their Castle. Servants, nannies, gardeners, the lot. I could have listened to her stories all day. Her name was Mary too. We also notice that most churches are St Marys as well.  They don’t seem to have a lot of imagination when it comes to names.

We did a bit of resupply and met up with more walkers for breakfast the next morning. An interestinh bunch including Bob, originally from Wales but has been living in Perth for 30 years. He has 2 sons who are in the New Zealand Royal ballet. I put my foot in by saying, with astomishment, “They obviously are not built like you.” Luckily he had a sense of humour as we met him on trail the next day. He was doing half our days and getting taxis back to his lodgings.  He was very impressed by Kay and I.

I enjoyed that days walk, my fitness is coming back so I am happy.