Distance walked: 19km, Time taken: 6 hours (not including lunch or sightseeing)
Ascents: 628m, Descents: 597m
I slept in until 5am this time, which is an improvement. No snoring or aching limbs to wake me, just too much sunshine too early. After a solitary breakfast, I set off to tackle my second day. My big toes were feeling a little tender so I liberally covered them with bandaids. I ended the day with blisters on the tips of both. Going down hill is no fun at all as it means my toes rub against the front of my boots. There are many more hills in my future too.
There was a long section walking along the top of the dyke today. It is very impressive with a broad, flat top and a virtually straight drop 6-8m down on the Welsh side. I can’t imagine how much work it must have been to construct. A good part of the walk was through forests that are carpeted in bluebells at this time of year. Very beautiful to look at - all the more pleasing as bluebells are actually purple.
I took things easy today as it is shorter, not tottering into Monmouth for my lunch stop until 4 hours after I set out even though it was only 6-ish miles away. When I got there I realised, while I had carefully looked up which pubs in Monmouth served real ale, I had neglected to read the list before I set out. I ended up just wandering about and checking out what was available. Even though Monmouth clearly has a larger population than Chepstow it seemed to have fewer pubs. The first pub I came to seemed a bit sketchy so I moved on. The second had boasted about its fine coffee & cake but made no mention of its beer. It also made of point of saying dogs weren’t welcome, so I gave it a miss too. The third was part of a chain, so I skipped it as well. I settled on the fourth, Robin Hood Inn, as it seemed to be my only option. However, it did cater to locals (median age 60+) and served cask ale - but only big name brands, nothing local. Still it wasn’t bad. I had a pint of the Old Speckled Hen.
After lunch I pottered around Monmouth some. I found 3 more pubs, but that still makes it light on compared to Chepstow. There were a lot of displays about Henry V who started life as Henry of Monmouth. In particular, a big deal was made of how he defeated the pesky Welsh, which seemed a bit odd given that Monmouth is in Wales. I also heard my first Welsh accent here too. Unfortunately, it was from a drunk who was swearing but still, it was the real deal.
After pottering about, I headed off again about 3pm to finish up the last section of my walk through King’s Forest. On the other side of the forest where the track met a road, I called my landlady for the night and she came a fetched me as the B&B tonight is 4 miles off the path. She couldn’t have been friendlier and more welcoming. A very pleasant way to end the day.
There are another pair of walkers staying here. They are walking Offa’s Dyke path too but from north to south. There next stop is the same place I was last night, but they walked further today than I will tomorrow so my next stop is different to theirs. The husband is Welsh and has tried to teach me how to pronounce some of the names of the various villages I’ll be visiting. I can manage the “f” and the “w” now but the “ll” still defeats me.
Dinner was provided by our hosts. Main was what she called lasagna. I wouldn’t have called it that, but as a baked pasta dish it was quite tasty. Side dishes were salad and, oddly, baked potatoes. Dessert was a lovely, gooey chocolate brownie with cream and ice cream. This was all washed down with tap water and followed by copious cups of tea. There is nowhere for lunch tomorrow on the trail but tomorrow night’s dinner is at a pub. I have to have at least 2 pints to keep my beer quota up.
As I was leaving the next morning, my landlady showed me a clever way to lace your boots that stops your toes from rubbing against the front of your boots. Why didn't I meet her earlier?
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