Offa’s Dyke Day 2.
Distance today: 15.2 miles.
Total distance: 833.8 miles.
Accommodation: campsite.
Looked like it was going to be another hot one and what better way to start the day than with a steep climb. When I finally emerged from a wooded trail where it was easy to believe I was in the middle of nowhere, I bizarrely found myself on the edge of a golf course. To add to the surrealness, 2 of the early morning golfers were using remote control golf carts to carry their bags. Maybe I should get one of those.
Next stop, Llanymynech. With no disrespect to the village, I couldn’t help thinking it sounded like an injury. Ooh, I’ve llanyed my neck. I treated myself to a cooked breakfast at the Village Pantry café and after picking up some supplies at the Llanymynech Shop, I joined the Montgomery Canal towpath. The trail doesn’t follow the canal for too long although it does pick it up later. There’s a long stretch after Four Crosses where it felt like I was constantly going through fields of cattle. I do have an ongoing irritation that trails do this to you. For most of the time, the cows are totally uninterested but occasionally they do get a bit frisky and come to get a closer look. When this happens, it becomes a real chore to get to the other end of the field. For a mile or two, the route roughly follows the River Severn which at that point in its journey, didn’t look too substantial. Overhead I could hear a helicopter going up and down the valley. At first I thought that it must be hunting a fugitive – or at least someone who had got lost. Later on, someone told me it was likely to be training exercises given that the area fell within the range used by RAF Shawbury. Good to know I didn’t have to worry about crazed axe murderers on the run.
More than one person who I’d met walking in the opposite direction had mentioned a place on route where you could buy some home-made cake and fill up your water bottles. It was little more than a few chairs and a table with an honesty box and a Tupperware container full of cake. Simple but still a lovely gesture. The walnut and date cake was delicious too. The house was around the corner and the owners seemed more than happy to fill my water bladders. There wasn’t a hint of it possibly being an annoyance. Out of idle curiosity, given the amount of walkers on the trail, I did wonder how much they made at £1 a slice.
By the time I started to walk along the Montgomery Canal for the second time, it was around 2pm and with the sun beating down, I was very thankful for the shade from the overhanging trees. And as a bonus, it was a pretty little walk too.
After a relatively short day, my final stopping point was the Green Dragon Inn at Buttington. The pub had a camping space at the back and while they had areas set aside for their pods and bell tents, there was plenty enough room for everyone. First things first, I needed a pint. There was a guy in the pub who was obviously a walker as well and so I ended up having a beer with him. Alan used to run an electronic manufacturing services business. He’d sold up, made a few quid, and in his retirement he now spent his time planning walks and walking, occasionally with his wife, occasionally without. He was currently doing the whole of Offa’s Dyke. His planning also included finding the right equipment. Alan was Mr Gear. He used to have my rucksack, didn’t get on with it so sold it and bought a different one. The same with the tent. He now had one where you used your trekking poles for the uprights just to save those precious grams. It made me smile that his rucksack looked tiny and yet he still seemed to have a lot more gear than I did. Anyway, it was good to have a geeky hiking chat.
As the evening approached, I could see people setting up for live music in the beer garden. It was a covers band doing (amateurish) covers of mainly country and western songs. As it was well within earshot of where I was camping I’d asked the landlady how long it was going on for. Definitely just between 7pm and 9pm. Ahem. Not quite. I wasn’t that fussed because I spent half the time in the pub. Fish and chips and another pint of Butty Bach. I’d forgotten how nice that beer was.
