Day 17 - Tuesday 21st. Dry and clear yet again. I was up early checking and planning routes: it turns out that we can get to the Welshpool area, where John Frost is joining us, in two 20-mile days if we omit Hergest Ridge and Kington. This is a pity as I would have enjoyed it, but it makes for a very big day with packs, or would mean ending a day in a remote area. So we will focus on Goal 1 and make the distance.
After breakfast Yolanda drove us back through Hay and up the little mountain roads to Llanthony, where we set off at 10am; an hour later than normal, but this would be a shorter day. We stayed in the valley and walked up norhwards up the valley on paths and empty farm lanes. This is the Vale of Ewyas in which the River Honddu (Honthy) runs between the high ridges of the Black Mountains from Gospel Pass at 542 metres height for 10 miles to Pandy at 200 metres. It is a spectacular and beautiful valley populated by small farms and hamlets. It is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, although those hills are a bit to the west and the footpath network is popular and well marked. Our route climbed gradually up the valley on the East side of the river and was easy walking. The main sound was bleating sheep, but there was also the sound of the river and bird song. After a few miles, we reached the hamlet of Capel-y-ffin, where there are two tiny chapels and a few houses, but it seems to be a meeting point as there are people there each time we pass it. We were now on the narrow road that runs through the valley, but it was very quiet and we saw few cars. As we walked and rose above 1,000 feet, the trees started to thin out and the view of the top of the valley opened out before us. We reached Gospel Pass, where the road enters the valley from Hay after a couple of hours and were treated on the north side to a panorama covering a huge area, from the Brecon Beacons in the south to Herefordshire in the north. The descent towards Hay on Wye over springy turf was thus quite glorious, and again, walking is easier than normal because of the dry ground - we are definitely being spoilt!
There was an ice cream van in a car park near the top where I bought a 99. I asked the man whether he got much business in this spot and he said that he comes up there for a rest! The air was cold, but I enjoyed the ice cream anyway. As I walked, as is often the case, I was thinking about earning a living on my return, and getting my finances back on track - this excursion is not a prudent thing to undertake, but if I don't do it now, at 60, when will I? The funny thing is that a walk like this within a defined time is definitely hard work, especially when you add in writing and publishing the blog. In order to record and publish the walk, I am carrying:
* A good camera, spare lens, charger, connector wires.
* A small laptop computer with charger.
* An iPhone with connector and charger plus a solar charger.
and, of course, a guitar. This is all in addition to clothes and camping gear. I don't mind the weight of my pack much and find that I can easily carry it up and down the hills, but there is a cost in muscular tiredness as the day progresses. I havent had to carry the full weight very much on this walk as Yolanda has made it possible for us to leave them in the car on the days she is around so we only have to carry day packs.
The way down to Hay is mostly over open heath, but when the farmland started, we encountered no problems and just enjoyed the walk. Sometimes,when the descent is steep and the ground easy, it is easier on the legs to 'jog' down the hill rather than walk. You have to have strong legs in order to be able to control your speed and stop, and 'jog' isn't a good word as you need to glide from step to step rather than bounce or it is very bad for the knees. Anyway, it gets you down very quickly.
Reaching Hay, we walked into the centre where every other shop seems to be a book shop - literature really has taken over here, and the annual literary festival has become huge. We found a pub and had a pint, but neither the pub, nor the welcome were up to much so we left after one drink. We were going to arrive at our destination only 3.5 miles away early so John called Yolanda to rearrange our rendezvous. The short afternoon's walk was along the river which,at this point, is wide and shallow, then over some dull fields and up to the A438, which we had to follow for upwards of a mile with light, but fast traffic whizzing by. Distances on such roads seem long when you are walking. We were soon picked up by Yo in the car and returned to our base for tea and a bath and to prepare ourselves for a couple of longish days.
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