Leaving Knighton with warnings of hard climbs ahead ringing in my ears. I remembered meeting an ex-countryside ranger while only a few miles into the walk back in Chepstow. After telling me how hostile the locals were to walkers, how they were the principle vandals of waymarking signs, he left me with the encouragment "Don't worry, there are a few flat bits."
So I walked off glancing suspiciously at net curtains, imagining pernicious locals clutching loaded air rifles in their sweaty hands, waiting for the click, ping, wizz, ouch of their success. I should have paid more attention to the 'few flat bits' repeating it over in my mind like a new age mantra. I left Knighton via a very, very steep grassy climb. On reaching the top and after pausing to take in the view of Peinghton down the valley. I noted how it was then straight down into the next valley bottom (a cwm). That went on all day! It was like alternating every half hour of a working day on a stair machine on its highest setting. I dropped into more bottoms than I care to remember that day!

Relief came in the shape of some r&r with Carol, (visiting billynomatesonoffasdyke.com on her way to see her daughter in Nottingham), in Bishopscastle, an h'or d'oerve of Three Tuns Bitter-brewed inhouse- followed by some particularly satisfying Russian cuisine.

The second of the trails flat bits -the first being The Hatterall Ridge on the Black Mountains-lay ahead from Welshpool to Llanymynech along the now restored Montgomery Canal. Stopping for a quick half in the Powis Arms with Dave and Deryn (my xmas card list is growing exponentially!) I set off waterside.

A beautiful walk along the canal culminated in the sight of the aquaduct over the Severn. Though I was due for another dose of night terrors the suggestion by a local that I might like to stay at the Bradford Arms Hotel seemed invitation enough.

Bob Hedley, who runs it with his wife Cathy offered me a five pound discount if I could crack the maths home work of their 10 year old.

"Can you get across the river using 3,5,7,8 each time plus minus brackets, blah blah blah"

"NO"

They gave me the discount anyway, Bob owning that jovial effervescence that seems to be the default of Northumberlundrians, (Corbridge)he also gave me £10.00 sponsorship, being well acquainted with Diabetes through both his parents having it.

This is a four star hotel masquerading under three, The leek, mushroom and onion pancake with white wine sauce, washed down with a couple of pints of Black Sheep Bitter was worth what ever it was of anybody's money.

With a talking three legged cat called Charlie "'meowt....neow" (let me out...now).
And a wife that cuts the jewels of every male within a machetes length of her, (Bob's been done twice!) - a predeliction I thought perculiar only to my own mother before today. Replete and recharged I legged it!
On their recommendation next stop Selattyn.

EEE me 'n computors!

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That's it!

Here's a little recky of what's gone on:

Mon. Sedbury cliffs - Bigsweir 11.5 miles
Tues. Bigsweir Bridge - Llantilio Crossing 16 miles.
Wed. Llantilio - Hay on Wye 24 miles
Thurs. H-on-Wye - Gladestry 10 miles
Fri. Gladestry- Knighton 19 miles
Sat. Knighton - Cwm 13 miles
Sun. Cwm - Welshpool 20 miles (incl. div. to Monty)
Mon. Welshpool - Llanymynech 12.5 miles
Tue. Llanymynech - Oswestry 9 miles
Wed. Oswestry - Llangollen 17.5
Thu. Llangollen - Llandegla 9 miles
Fri.Llandegla - Prestatyn 30 miles!!
Total 180

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Sponsorship. Home of Herberts

Don't forget this is not just a self absorbed trip down the Welsh side of me.



http://www.justgiving.com/gesonoffasdyke





is the link if you would like to sponsor me (your amount is hidden!)

I'm in Welshpool now about to tackle the climb up to Powis Castle (there's bound to be one) and look at the seat of the Herberts. The picture below are two of them resting up in St Nicholas' church in Montgomery. But it's not uploading (aargh! Rufusonian Technophobia is setting in)



On my first night I stayed in a splendidly isolated guest house called The Florence. In the garden was a forty foot monkey puzzle tree. I missed it at the time but this was an appropriate symbol of the connection between the Wales of my father's youth and the country he died in. The monkey puzzle tree is indigenous to Chile (Its seeds are a delicacy there).

Up on Hergast Ridge, where I spent a magical night under the stars, I came across six of them silouetted against the morning mist. They were planted by a local big boy to commemeratethe death of his wife. Lawrence Banks (No relation to that mascara wearing, John Travolta mimmicing all round good bloke- Paul).

Then again, and maybe not finally, at a forest just outside Welshpool where they stood among redwood at over 90 feet tall and celebrating 50 years next month.

half way house

Stayed in this wonderful drinking hole 2 nights ago. Knighton is the theoretical halfway point of the walk so I celebrated with steak and chips and a couple of pints of the guest bitter Reverend James. Justin the owner, was very accommodating. One needs maximum succour here as the next stage is back breakingly, knee wrenchingly, heart strainingly difficult. Luckily I could still taste the Reverend James in my mouth which helped to sustain me whilst traversing the half a dozen or so valleys to Cwm!

Eureka! Well Sabine actually. So how is a chance meeting with an East German responsible for me at last being able to upload pictures?

The answer's in the photo. This is half way up a very steep hill- one of many that day- so I stopped to swap pleasantries, and catch my breath, which took a rather circuitous route via the sun and Wiemar Republican Gun dogs to my guess, looking at the size of the camera bag, that she was a photographer, thence to the problem of resolution and the subsequent resolution of my problem by an adjustment to my camera.

After a slow start yesterday, and wth no where booked to aim for I set off wth purpose through Monmouth. Stopping only for a brief two hours in a costa coffee to upload images.
I walked through sme of the oldest woodld in England, my magination leaping through the pages of Lord of the Rings, the spectactular open views ver the Wye valey replaced by the claustraphobia and intimacy of mile after mile of woodlands innerds.
Atfer drk i switched on my hedlight and carried on through farms, orchards and backyards(!) until at about 9 o'clck i dropped down behind one of the oldest, hollowedout, oak trees in Christendom in the middle of a fied(the 'l'is hell n this keyboard!) in Llangattock Lingoed. Three quaters of an hur later i stopped struggling Norman Wisdm (the'O's too) style with the new tent and sept n top of it looking up past the dark boughs above me at the proliferation of stars abve , my only fear, wking up in rain, or so I thought!
That dreamy state before lightsout had , in my mind, cows licking my head, foxes chewing at my ears, rats gnawing at my toes, and the strong northerly wnd ripping off my skin before a text message arrived from a friend that amost arrested my cardiac.

Next morning I walked non-(more than 5 min)- stop to Hay on Wye where I arrive 12 hours later at Russel's Seven Stars Bed and breakfast abut which more anon.

getting started

Well after a sojourn in our glorious capital over the weekend I eventually arrived in Chepstow 1994 guide book in hand, looking for the start of the walk at Sedbury cliffs.
To get to the start is not straight forward and decidedly Krypton Factorish. I weaved through ex-squaddy estates, swamps, bull filled fields and buildng sites, stopping only to take an over 50's vitamin tablet before the final lung bursting rise up the Dyke to the starting stone. Perched on the edge of cliffs overlooking the Bristol Channel, wth striking views of the Severn Bridge to the south. NORMALLY. Today, however the seamist was so thick they must have shipped it over from Ir.....(sorry, an old Stanley Baxter joke!)
Two grass tenders at the stone suggested I could wait an hour for the tide to come in and the mist to rise.

I decided to crack on. After having my photo taken by the stone and weaving my way back to Chepstow, I met an ex-squaddy, geordie who told me that he was daily helping people find their way to the start (or finsh) "Why man ornly last week ah helped a coople oot the marshes. They were com-pleet-ely knackered" he managed to make 'knackered' sound like two half bricks cracking nuts,

More later when I manage to upload the pictures successfuly.

I reached Bigsweir last night but today I'm only managing a weary 1 mph!

The walk has been breathtaking so far as the photos will show.

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My bags are packed, I just need to shave my head and book into a hotel for the halfway point at Knighton ('en suite' of course!).
The widget explains part of the purpose of the walk. Mainly however, I will be losing weight.

On the 22 September, I'm setting off to walk the 180 miles between Chepstow and Prestatyn. Also known as The Offa's dyke National Trail it runs from coast to coast: Bristol Channel to the Irish Sea. Crossing the Wales/England border several times.

I had originally intended to take a llama with me, for company, to carry things and to create a bit of interest. The trail, however, is famously studded with an inordinate amount of styles and kissing gates, so unless I can find a llama that leaps (in the next few days) I'm going alone.