Introduction
Back in
2006, Mike and I had squeezed in a few extra days walking by taking the train
to Prestatyn and following Offa’s Dyke Path down to Buttington Bridge and Welshpool.
Since then we have been tied up with our epic End-to-End walk which we
completed last year. So, with more time on our hands, we could revisit the
national trail which we had started 11 years ago. We booked train tickets to
Welshpool and went back to the marches in more ways than one.
Wednesday 29th August 2018 Welshpool - Mellington
Digging Beacon Ring
The
unreliability of our local train company persuaded us to use the Wilmslow line
to get to Crewe and Shrewsbury. Jill took us to Wilmslow Station to start our
journey. A long connection at Shrewsbury gave us an opportunity for a late breakfast.
We were in Welshpool by 10.50am and we set off straight away along the canal to
Buttington Bridge. A light drizzle caused us to briefly raise our umbrellas, a
strange event in this driest of dry summers. Crossing the parched farmland on
the east bank of the Severn, the weather improved and it was hot work plodding
up to the top of Beacon Ring and its iron-age monument.
The path
contoured around the earth works to where an archaeological dig was underway. An
archaeologist suggested that we continue
our circumnavigation to view a trench has been dug through the outer ramparts.
We spent time that we could ill afford, considering our late start, talking to
two more of the archaeologists and finding out how the dating of the site is
being investigated. Then we set off again downhill on woodland tracks to the
village of Kingswood. The route bypassed the village centre and halfway along we
sat in a field and ate our lunches.
The last
section of the day was almost a straight line though farmland and field
systems, continually crossing and re-crossing the Welsh-English border. The
town of Montgomery looked enticingly close by, tucked into the hillside to our
right. But we had further to go, onwards passed Brompton Hall and Mellington
Hall. After the holiday park, a gate led left across a rough pasture and onto a
lane into the hamlet of Mellington. The last house, as always, was our b&b
for the night.
Welshpool dep.
10.50, Mellington arr. 17.30
GPS 16.20
miles in 6hrs 33mins 24secs walking time plus 15 mins at Kingswood for our
lunch.
Offa’s Roller Coaster
It was going
to be a long day so we asked for an early breakfast. By 7.30am we were tucking
into a ‘full Welsh’, and we were on our way soon after 8.30am. We first had to
retrace our steps along the lane and across the field to get back on-route. Then
the climbing started. As we slogged to the top of the first hill we picked up
the line of the dyke and walked in the fields to one side. The sky was clear,
there was no wind and we began to sweat, alarmingly for so early in the day. On
reaching the top we caught our first glimpse of the rolling hills ahead.
Steep
descents followed steep climbs for the rest of the morning. Under cloudless
skies and with magnificent views we traversed this roller coaster of hills. We
ticked off the valleys one by one, the Unk, Churchtown, Hergan, Clun and then
the massive grind up to Springhill Farm where we had a short break for some
food and water. Then thankfully there was an easier section involving a gentle
decent, passed sheep and sheepdogs, to Garbett Hall before the last blast up Cwm-sanaham Hill and the
glorious descent into Knighton. The first building we came to was the Offa’s
Dyke Centre complete with café. We were thankful for a coffee and cake after a
very strenuous day. But it was not over yet!
I rang ahead
to warn our overnight accommodation that we were running late. It was after 4pm
before we embarked on the last leg of the day. This began with a climb up
through some woods onto a plateau of farmland and open moors. It was so much
easier walking that we got into a good rhythm and in no time at all, it seemed,
we were strolling down the lane into Dolley Green. What a magnificent day’s
walking.
Mellington
dep. 08.37, Dolley Green arr. 18.30
GPS 20.68 miles
in 9hrs 11mins 17secs walking with 10 mins rest near Springhill Farm and 25
mins (15.40-16.05) in the Offa’s Dyke Centre in Knighton.
We stayed with
Thea and Barry at Rose Villa in Dolley Green. Our accommodation was a cabin in
their beautiful garden. House and garden were surrounded by logs just like a
Swiss villa, thus belying Thea’s origins. We ate in the kitchen ‘en famille’,
with Thea producing wonderful food from her wood-burning range. The
conversation flowed but we finally stumbled back to our cabin and a well-earned
sleep.
Friday 31st August 2018 Dolley Green – Hay-on-Wye
Another
early start. 7.30am saw us reconvening around the kitchen table. Mike was not
allowed to refuse the sausages, sourced as they were from a local farm shop. The
main problem was getting away, such was the level and intensity of the
conversation. With full stomachs and ringing ears, we set off down the road on
a gloriously sunny morning. The initial section followed closely the line of
the dyke, up and down hills to Evenjobb and beyond. There was a huge climb up
Rushock Hill where the dyke wound its way around the steep contours. The long
descent to Kington zig-zagged its way across sheep-grazed grassland which
eventually brought us to a golf course and down into the lovely town centre.
The cafes were full of the lunching golden oldies so we bought sandwiches in a
supermarket and sat on a bench for our lunch break. 
The route
out of Kington was a gradual climb up a straight lane which became a straight
track which became a straight grassy path along a high ridge of hills. On the
highest point was a plantation of monkey-puzzle trees, a rather incongruous
sight. The views into mid-Wales were spectacular in this sunny weather. The
easy walking ended in a steep stony path down to Gladestry where the pub was
firmly closed. Another series of hills were crossed before we found ourselves
on another grassy path descending to Newchurch. As we sat eating our snacks, a
young woman stomped up the steep slope towards us. She introduced herself as
Laura Bentley; she was coming to the end of a circumnavigation of Wales, having
completed the coast path in 10 weeks and was returning to Chester up Offa's
Dyke. She was collecting for the Alzheimer’s Society. I promised to send a
donation.
After the
climb beyond the village, things became much easier. Lanes and stony tracks led
us down into the Wye Valley and the final descent was on a lovely woodland path
through Bettws Dingle. The very busy main road was an unpleasant interlude
before we turned down to the river through massive fields busy with combine
harvesters. The last mile was on a quiet section of river bank which took us to
the road bridge into Hay-on-Wye. The accommodation, we had been told was just passed
the town clock and so we soon were ensconced in the outhouse bedroom.
Dolley Green
dep. 09.00, Hay-on-Wye arr.19.15
We stayed in Belmont House, Belmont Road, Hay on Wye. We ate
at the Blue Boy, steak and kidney pie and apple and rhubarb crumble &
custard. The beer was Landlord (4.3%) from Timothy Taylor’s.
Saturday 1st September 2018 Hay on Wye – Pandy
Traversing the Black Mountains
This
promised to be our easiest day so we had a leisurely breakfast and a wander
round town before heading for the Black Mountains. A local shop cut us some
sandwiches and we stocked up on jam doughnuts. The ascent to Hay Bluff began
gently enough across low-lying farmland, parched in the morning sunshine. The
path got gradually steeper, crossing tracks and lanes as it climbed. Suddenly
we broke out onto high moorland with the ridge of Hay Bluff dominating the
foreground. The route of the national train turned left just before the Bluff
and ascended on a slanting path which gained the main plateau about half a mile
beyond the top of the Bluff. Here we stood for a while talking to a lone walker
from Co Down who had come up from Llanthony Priory. Then we started our long
traverse of the mountain.
In these
benign conditions, the crossing was a walk in the park. In fact all the boggy
areas had been over-laid with stone flags similar to parts of the Pennine Way.
And it was almost pan flat with imperceptible rises to the occasional cairn or
trig point. At the first of these (pt. 610) we sat on the base of the trip to
eat our sandwiches and doughnuts. At the second of these, Mike made the mistake
of putting his walking stick down whilst he took a photograph. It was another
15 minutes before he remembered that he had left it there. I lay in the sun
with the rucksacks whilst he ran back to retrieve it. We were encountering
increasing numbers of groups walking towards us, doing the trail south to north.
Several of these were Americans. One quartet warned us off jokes about their
president, declaring that they were ‘Trumpers’.
The descent
was gradual at first and then steeply down to a lane from which we could see
the back of the house where we were due to stay. But access from the rear had
not been negotiated so we had to trapes for over a mile round the lanes to gain
the front entrance and then back up the very impressive tree-lined driveway. It
was a great shame that the present state of the house does to reflect the
magnificence to the approach.
Hay on Wye dep.
09.10, Pandy arr. 17.15
GPS 17.24 miles
in 7hrs 16mins 10secs walking time plus a 20 min break at first trig point
(13.00-13.20) and 30 mins for recovering a lost walking stick.
We stayed at
Brynhonddu B&B near Pandy and walked the mile or so to the Old Pandy Inn
for a meal of fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding. The beers were HPA
(4.0%) and Butty Bach (4.5%) both from Wye Valley Brewery.
Sunday 2nd September 2018 Pandy
– Redbrook
The Whiter of Three Castles
Harp music
welcomed us down to breakfast and accompanied us through our bacon and eggs.
Suitable soothed we slipped out of the b&b just after 9am and set off once
more down the long drive. It did not seem quite so long in the light of day and
we were soon back on route over the train-line and across the main road at the
Lancaster Arms which is now no longer a pub. An early up and over took us to
the lovely village Llangattock where an American walker, from Boston, told us that he did not know any ‘Trumpers’
and could not imaging Trumpers over here walking a national trail. A lone girl
walker stopped to warn us of cornfields ahead. Little did we know what waited
us.
Just after
leaving Caggle Street, we started the long slog up to the White Castle. Here we
had our first break and asked an Israeli couple to take a photograph of the two
of us. Leaving the castle we soon met our first indication of trouble ahead, a
footpath closure sign but with no alternatives indicated. We decided to press
on through the closure notices and found ourselves in a massive field of corn,
at least 10ft high, planted right across the footpath. Careful navigation took
us under some electricity lines being worked upon, 
probably the reason for the
closure in the first place. But the farmer had quickly taken the opportunity to
plough up the path and plant his precious corn. We battled on through the jungle,
eventually coming out onto a quite country lane. A diversion was marked at this
end. Obviously north-to-south walkers were not catered
We needed
another rest so we sat in a cider orchard and ate our snacks before setting off
on an easier section of the day passed the holiday homes at Hendre and through
the quiet woodland tracks of Kings Wood. This led us directly into the
outskirts of Monmouth, and very posh outskirts they were. The River Monnow was
crossed on a magnificent old bridge which acted as one of the town gates. The
town of Monmouth looked lovely in the evening sunshine and it was tempting to
stop for the night. We succumbed to a quick pint at the Punch House, sitting
outside in Agincourt Square. Then we pressed on. A few extra miles tonight
would make the last day so much less stress
We had not
realised what climb awaited us. We toiled up this ‘sting in the tail’ but the
view from the top, Kymin, was worth it. All of Monmouth and our day’s walk was
laid out before us. Kymin is where Lord Nelson used to entertain Lady Hamilton
and there is a naval monument nearby to 16 British admirals. The descent was
long and gentle and all was well until Mike remembered he had left his stick on
the bench at Kymin. So back he went and did the descent a second time.
Meanwhile I pushed on to tell our landlady what was happening and I had time
for a shower and change of clothes before Mike arrived, having persuaded a
local lady to show him where our b&b was situated.
Pandy dep. 09.10, Redbrook arr.18.50
GPS 21.83
miles in 8hrs 49mins 53secs walking time plus 10min stop at the White Castle
and 30 mins (17.00-17.30) for a pint of Silver King (4.3%, Ossett Brewery) in
the Punch House in Monmouth.
We stayed at
Tresco b&b in Redbrook and ate at the Bell Inn. We were rather late getting
in but they were most welcoming and cooked us a lovely meal of steak burgers and
chips washed down by Golden Rule (4.0%) from Bespoke Brewing Co in Mitcheldean.
Monday 3rd September 2018 Redbrook – Chepstow
Steep and Lofty Cliffs
Our last
day. A train to catch so an early start was a necessity. Mike had strolled
ahead to get his sandwich from the Post Office and, by the time I came along,
we were ready for the first big climb of the day. But first of all we had to
find it. Then a lady dog walker called us over and indicated a hidden set of
steps that led onto the steep hillside.
Once we were up, the walking was splendid, through wooded paths and
stepping over tree roots on top of the dyke. The descent to Bigsweir was long
and gradual and we made good time through the woods and down the road to the old
bridge. We did not cross it but instead turned left and south and repeated the
climb and descent cycle.
We had not
budgeted for the viciousness of the climb out of Bigsweir. It got steeper and
steeper until we reached a set of wooden steps that took us into a complex of lanes
and sunken paths before dropping into a very prosperous looking valley. We
crossed this valley well above Brockweir and flogged up what turned out to be
our last major climb. We were then in dense woodland all the way, rarely
gaining any glimpse of the Wye Valley below. This added to the impact of
arriving at the Devil’s Pulpit where the magnificent view over Tintern Abbey and
the river opened up below. We sat eating our lunch and admiring the view. Two
American ladies shared our picnic spot and we chatted away for far too long.
Eventually, after receiving an invitation from Julie to visit her and do some
walking in Virginia, we moved on and into the coda of our trip. 
After
another two miles of forest trails we were suddenly aware of a change in the character
of the land in front of us. Suddenly, there in the distance was the sea, or at
least the Severn Estuary with its road bridges and Oldbury Power Station. The ridge dropped gradually away. A busy road
had to be negotiated before we entered much tamer farmland and footpaths. A
short section along the cliffs at Wintour’s Leap took us into estates and
parkland on the edge of Chepstow. We detoured round the housing estates of
Sedbury and then crossed the peninsular along the last section of Offa’s wondrous
dyke. We did not expect an uphill finish but that was the only way of reaching
the finish stone, perched on the cliffs above the Severn. A German couple had
finished ten minutes before us and did the honours for our final photoshoot,
Mike and me sitting together at the end of our long adventure.
Redbrook
dep. 08.50, Sedbury Cliff 15.50
GPS 14.97
miles in 6hrs 30mins walking time plus 30 mins at the Devil’s Pulpit
Exit Strategy
We climbed over the fence to stand a few seconds on the very edge of Sedbury Cliff and admire the views over the Severn Estuary. Then we climbed back again and return down the path to the road and then turned along the pavement through Sedbury village and down the steps to the A48. The road bridge led us into Chepstow town centre where we had a coffee and a bite to eat. We still had time for a quick pint (Proper Job 4.5% from Sharp’s) in the Beaufort Hotel before we walked round to the station and caught our train to Birmingham. We missed the connection at New Street and arrived home some 45 minutes late but Jill was there as ever and we were whisked back to our house and a very well-earned sleep. In total we had walked 117 miles and I had another national trail under my belt.