Day 10 - Cwm to Buttington

Beer drunk: 1 pint
Distance walked: 22km, Time taken: 7 hours
Ascents: 499m, Descents: 636m

The terrain was must easier today and the weather much better - clear, sunny skies again. However, today was a slog. I was still not fully recovered from the previous day and didn't go much faster than yesterday. Also, the soles of my feet are aching. I think the only cure for that is to rest and not walk too much.  This will be little tricky to do as I have 7 more days of walking until I get to the end.

The landlady at our B&B near Cwm provided us with packet lunches as there was nowhere to stop on the trail today. I'd asked for a sandwich and a piece of fruit. I got 1 1/2 sandwiches, 2 pieces of fruit, a chocolate bar and a packet of crisps.  The B&B is in Wales and we got hit with full Welsh hospitality.

I got dropped off at the trail first, with the other 4 about 10 minutes behind me but I didn't see them again. I did run into one of the three couples I've been seeing on and off. We would chat and then I'd let them go on ahead as I prefer walking by myself. However, by the end of the day they waited for me as they wanted me to take some photos of them. The next field we had to walk through had a bull, his herd of heifers and their calves in it so I stuck with the couple as they don't have trouble with cows. The cows were across the path but we took a big detour around them.  Bulls are huge.

Most of today's walk was through farmland. After all the rain it was muddy and slippery but I avoided falling today. I lunched late as farmland means sheep, which meant finding a place to stop to eat that wasn't scented with sheep shit and the attendant flies took some doing. The last third or so of the walk was through a forest so I stopped and ate there. By that time I was hungry enough I ate the lot.

The three of us got to Buttington together.  There isn't anywhere to stay around there. Instead, we had to phone our respective B&B hosts to get picked up. They waited at the church. I waited at the Green Dragon Inn and had a pint of the local ale that is brewed especially for them.

My B&B for tonight describes itself as a Victorian farmhouse. It must have belonged to a very prosperous farmer because the house is a very posh, two storey Victorian country house. I can see a Jane Austen novel taking place here - never mind it is the wrong period. My room is huge with fabulous views out over the hills I just walked over. It is much pleasanter seeing them from here. That blob in the far distance just to the right at the top of the picture is an iron age hill fort which I walked around.

They have 11 people staying in the house tonight (I told you it isn't small) so I was expecting a crowd for dinner but I dined in solitary splendour. One couple are walkers too but were having a rest day and had gone out sightseeing. I don't know what the other 8 were doing - they are all together - but they were out for dinner.

I was served a lovely large hunk of smoked salmon and cream cheese roulade with buttered brown bread to start with. Main was a chicken breast with a mushroom cream sauce. I had bowls of beans, mashed potatoes (made with more cream from the taste), cabbage and cauliflower cheese to  help myself from. The amount of food would have served 2 people comfortably. More to the point, no lasagna in sight! Dessert was the only let down. It was apple and strawberry crumble with custard. I strongly suspect the custard came from a packet and the crumble topping wasn't properly crumbly. Still the whole meal was very pleasing.

One thing I've noticed about UK bathrooms is they never have a powerpoint in them. It must be a health and safety thing. It is also a nuisance when you want to blow-dry your hair. However, in my room here I have a dressing table with a handy powerpoint nearby. I sat at my dressing table and fixed my hair before going down to dinner. I felt right posh.