Maelor Way. Warning, do not use this trail.
Distance today: 23.9 miles.
Total distance: 799.8 miles.
Accommodation: campsite.
The plan for the day was to try to get as near to Chirk as I could. To rejoin the Maelor Way, I had a mile and a half to walk along the busy A525, which ended up being fine because the road had decent width verges. It was at this point it all started to go wrong. I can accept responsibility for choosing not to use accurate GPS gear and for being too lazy/incompetent to not consulting a map every time I thought I might have strayed off course but none of these things take away from the fact that the trail was rubbish. I guess it was a bit of Catch 22 in that it wasn’t easy to follow because people didn’t use it and people didn’t use it because it wasn’t easy to follow. The waymarkers were clear enough when you were about to leave a road but then they vanished and you were left walking through wet field after wet field trying to look for any indication that you were heading in the right direction. It was thoroughly frustrating. At one point I found myself hacking through a long tunnel of overgrown vegetation, thinking this can’t possibly be the right way, only to discover a waymarker at the end confirming that it was. And the final insult? There was virtually nothing of interest to look at. Other than providing an off-road link between the Sandstone Trail and Offa’s Dyke what exactly was the purpose of this trail? There was one slightly surreal distraction when I bumped into someone riding a very large white horse. The rider had the manner of an old colonel and he could emphasize with my plight because he had written something about the history of the local school. Back in the 1860s, the kids had to dry out all their clothes because to get school, they too had to walk to through wet fields.
By the time I was on the approach to Little Overton, I made an unprecedented decision. I was going to abandon the trail. The completist in me really hated to do it but it simply wasn’t worth it. For the rest of the day, I would be walking along roads.
Time to think about accommodation. Lady Margaret’s Park Club was closed for some reason. Halton Farm Caravan and Motorhome club didn’t get back to me even after I’d left a message. My final hope was Wild Cherry Camping and the early indicators weren’t good. When I rang up, the woman said they were full. Once again I did my best pleading – just for one night, doing John o’ Groats to Land’s End, I’ll take anything, … She thought about it for a while and finally said that yes, they would be able to find me a spot. Brilliant.
When I arrived at the campsite, it turned out to be the perfect antidote to my troubled day. I was met by Mel and Rob who ran the place and while giving me a mini tour, they explained their ethos. Basically, they were trying to do everything in an environmentally responsible way. This included having a limited number of pitches and leaving aside areas for rewilding. They were also a certified Greener Camping Club campsite which in itself meant they had to meet certain criteria. This may all sound very worthy but the site itself was just lovely. My pitch was a ‘spill-over’ area normally used when people who had booked a bell tent had extra visitors staying. As no one was using the bell tent at the time, it meant they were happy to offer me the guest spot. Imagine a mown circle within a pasture of wild grass, and imagine it as the sun was setting. For one night at least, I was treated to a precious sanctuary.
