Day 15 - Clwyd Gate to Bodfari

Beer drunk: 1/2 pint
Distance walked: 20km, Time taken: 6 hours
Ascents: 915m, Descents: 1166m

Today was all about walking along the spine of the Clwydian Range and visiting one iron age hill fort after another. The scenery on this section was just spectacular. Again that word, but again it is appropriate.

The hill forts are, as the name implies, on the top of high points on the range. Each has at least one circle of dirt ramparts, some had two or more. Many had a central mound that gave views over the ramparts in all directions. The official trail now only takes you to the foot of the ramparts and the contours around them and heads on north. I ignored the official trail and climbed into the centre of each one - as you can see from the elevation plot at the 3km, 7km, 12km and 15km point. The views from these lookout points are incredible. It was like being on the top of the world. I've taken a series of photos from the first fort, Moel Fenlli, and hope to glue them together into a 360 degree panorama when I get home.

The second hill fort was probably just as impressive but a gaggle (clot?) of school children were being marched up to the summit on a school outing so I didn't stop. The third had double ramparts but no central lookup, while the fourth was just a bit piddly all round in comparison to the previous three. Still the area is labelled an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB) and it deserves it.

I meet the OtherCouple early on but they soon out-paced me and I didn't see they again today. I ran into the Quartet a few times and ended up walking the last mile or so with them into Bodfari. We all stopped at the local pub, the Downing Arms, and one of them (James ? Pete?) bought us beers all round. They were only drinking halves so I didn't feel comfortable ordering a pint so settled for a half of J. W. Lees Bitter which is from a Manchester brewery. It was harmless.

I was collected from the pub by my B&B hostess while the Quartet were staying locally. My B&B is amazing. It started life as an Elizabethan farmhouse and while it has been extensively renovated and extended over the years, some original bits remain. In particular, there is a central hall with a fireplace so big it has two seats inset in either side so you can sit close to the fire. You need to sit close because this place is built from stone and is bloody cold.

A second room is panelled with wood and lined with bookcases and with a large fireplace with a comforting blaze. I'm not sure of the age of this room but it is still inspiring me with severe library envy.

There is another walker staying here which is a nice change after my last few B&Bs where I've been the only guest. He is walking the trail in the reverse direction to me - north to south. It turns out he is a retired banker. Original in a variety of banks before ending up in Group Risk for RBS and then with the UK regulator (FSA). He is also heavily into beer and tries to drink a different local ale each night on his walks.  He has written a couple of columns for the CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) magazine on his "beer crawls". We had a very pleasing gossip over dinner.