Monday June 18

Newcastle to Knighton. 13km. Plus a bit from Newcastle back to the trail.

The day started out quite sunny but then became overcast and pretty windy at times. A high of probably only the mid-teens C.  I had a jacket on much of the day.

Final day of walking. We finally close the loop back to Knighton. Eleven days on Glyndwr’s Way and three days on Offa’s Dyke trail. We’ve been unbelievably fortunate with the weather!

We had a couple of fairly big sustained climbs today, but nothing too gruesome. The views today were probably the best they’ve been in the Offa’s Dyke section. On the first climb we had some good views back towards Newcastle, and on the last climb we had some outstanding views to Knighton and up the valley below where we had walked on the first day of Glyndwr’s Way.

We have seen more walkers on each of the last three days than we did on the whole of Glyndwr’s Way. It’s always nice to stop and chat with them. Part of the reason we have seen more on Offa’s Dyke is that most people apparently go south to north. We’re travelling the other way so we naturally run into more of them. Another clue that this footpath sees way more traffic is that the sheep are not nearly as skittish. Even the horses we came across today were pretty darned approachable.

One last time across the border..............

We stopped in at the Offa’s Dyke Centre for a few minutes on the way into town. Then we did some souvenir shopping, picked up our stored cycling gear, stopped for a pint and checked into our b&b. Time for a shower and repacking our suitcases and out for dinner.

I really do enjoy these multi-day walking/hiking trips. This one did seem a bit long, though, as the scenery didn’t change a great deal from day to day. It was lovely countryside, however, and the hospitality and company on the trail was outstanding.

One last night at a Knighton B&B and then on to the train station the next morning to start our journey home.............

I have no idea why I'm kneeling.............

Sunday June 17

Montgomery to Newcastle.  16km.

Temps were cool today; low to mid-teens C.  Windy at the top and misty rain a few times.  Actually, though...... pretty ideal conditions for walking.

Gary's cold got the better of him today so he rode with the luggage to tonight's accommodation.  Sheila's husband drove the rest of us to where we came off the trail yesterday.  Although he's a local, it seemed that he had never been down that particular road before.  Sheila had won a reward trip at work to upstate NY so she preparing for a trip to the Toronto area as well as the northeast US and seemed to be quite concerned about encountering mosquitoes.  I gave her my bottle of DEET that I had carried all trip but had had no reason to use.  She was thrilled!  Later in the day Gary realized that he had left his camera behind and Sheila's hubby drove it all the way to tonight's destination - nice.....

The guidebook made this out to be one of the more difficult days of the entire trip but it really wasn't bad at all.  Yes, there were some long ascents (but not as long as at home) but not really high elevations.  Some steep ups & downs, but nothing we haven't done before.  We spent quite a bit of time today actually walking on the dyke.  Kind of cool, but in the trees so not great views to be had.  We walked through some really lovely forests - larch trees, lime trees, other tall trees on either side and a nice path through the middle.  The first hour and a half or so was quite flat and then the hills started after that.

Probably the best view all day was coming into Newcastle (before the last steep descent).

Pretty easy navigating today - no "add-ons", no GPS checks.  We were in the hotel by about 4.  Gary is looking much better.  We had a lovely roast beef dinner and a free bottle of wine for putting up with a bit of a plumbing problem.  We sat in the pub and chatted until well after the barkeep went home.  "If you want another drink just help yourself and let us know in the morning".  Another old place and great people.  Last day tomorrow..............

Saturday June 16

Welshpool to Montgomery. 19 km.

It’s getting hard to find the enthusiasm for these posts. Even harder to remember what this morning was like. We stayed at the Moors Farm last night. A great night’s sleep. It’s quite an operation. In addition to the b&b house, they have a number of outbuildings which are the size of a small motel. Lots of people in those; a wedding party I believe she said. In addition to the usual sheep and cows, they have a huge pheasant operation. They raise 30,000 pheasants - a relatively small operation apparently. It seems there is huge money to be made in accommodating and organizing shoots. This is prime shooting territory and the season runs October to February. Good to know that we’re not in danger!  We did see a few pheasants today. They must have escaped the hunt last year. Our hostess, Henia, liked to talk and had lots of stories to tell. Besides feeding us honey from Prince Charles’ estate, and introducing us to a potent liquor called King’s Ginger, she told us more than any of us cared to know about the shooting subculture as well as the history of Moors Farm.

We finally said farewell about 9:30. We delayed long enough to allow the rain to stop.  It sprinkled on and off through the day but never enough to get wet. The wind and largely overcast skies kept it cool, which was good for my ever-diminishing heat rash.

The first photo below is Buttington Bridge, which is crossed by the Offa's Dyke Path.

Out the front door and across the street and we were onto Offa’s Dyke Trail. I found much of today’s route not all that interesting. Quite flat in most places and a fair amount of road walking.  There was a nice climb up to Beacon Ring, some nice forest walks. It’s not so much that I like the grunting up of hills, but I like that you generally get some great sweeping views from up there.

Later on in the day we crossed back and forth between Wales and England several times.

I believe I read that if you were to hike the entire Offa’s Dyke Trail, you would cross about 200 times.

Eventually we came to the turnoff for Montgomery and walked a fair distance into town. We saw a cricket match just starting up so we watched for a bit and had 2 of the locals try to educate us a bit. We have a long way to go.......

Finally in to town

and to the pub where we were to meet our hostess. Off to our home for the night, great showers & dinner. She did some laundry for us. We did a briefing for tomorrow and look forward with glee to all the climbing.....not!  Everyone’s in bed early, yet again. Hope Gary’s feeling better tomorrow.....

Friday June 15

Meiford to Welshpool.  17.5km.  Plus 2 miles to the castle & back.  Plus 1.6 miles to the inn.

The weather today was a mix of sun & cloud.  Temperature was probably in the mid-teens.  A perfect day for walking...........

Our stay last night at the Tan-y-Graig was great; a wonderful host & hostess!  This morning we were served a lovely breakfast of poached eggs & toast and sent on our way with a packed lunch.  We were driven back to Meiford and found the house that Rob & Rachel (our previous night's hosts at the Cann Office Hotel) were renovating.  It's huge!  A former bank building, I think.  Here's one of Gary's photos of downtown Meiford.

We had a varied and quite nice walk today.  Not too tough, although there were a few steep climbs.

A few interesting buildings in the early going.

Past a lake, Llyn Du..........

Views back to Meiford.

The garden at Fron-las.

The happy hikers...........

The greeting committee(s).

We passed a mobile home park, aka Caravan Club, by the name of Hidden Valley Holiday Home Park.  The buildings were nothing to look at but the grounds were lovely.

This old house is apparently called "Pant".

More sheep, rolling hills and windmills.

Then through a field of some very high crop (barley perhaps, or maybe wheat?).

And then onto a golf course / sheep pasture.  A very diverse day, indeed!

I 'm actually completing this blog months and months later, but I have in my notes that we only needed the GPS a few times today, and it probably saved us at least once from wandering too far off-route.  It was an especially convoluted route today.  When I look back in the guidebook (which Ron carried in his hands the whole way, even as he shows off his golf form above), it's amazing that we found our way anywhere.  Here's a sampling from today: "Go through the gate and bear slightly right down through a field and cross a stile.  Turn right and walk straight ahead, looking for markers that lead to a gate and a culverted drainage ditch.  Climb straight uphill alongside a fence.  Drop a little to cross a minor road, using stiles on both sides.  Bear right across a field, heading for the nearest big tree in a woodland, which is a horse chestnut.  A marker post reveals a sort of track, but the idea is to turn left and climb straight towards the hill ahead."  etc., etc.  But then - finding our way each day was part of the fun!

We did have some beautiful views from up on the golf course. 

We had a long walk on a road into Welshpool.

And then took a long detour to see Powis Castle. 

Back into town, to the official end of Glyndwr's Way in Howell Park.

Although this is the official end of Glyndwr's Way, we will be completing a loop back to Knighton by walking three days on the Offa's Dyke route.  After drinks, dinner and groceries in town, we headed another few miles to our accommodation which will position us well to start on Offa's Dyke tomorrow.  It was a lovely walk along the Montgomery Canal to The Moors Farm - a rather large operation, and at one time the principal farmhouse of Powis Castle.