Distance walked: 21km, Time taken: 6 hours
Ascents: 553m, Descents: 708m
Woke this morning to the sound of rain bucketing down. Not a good sign but the time breakfast was over the rain had stopped and the sky started to clear. I didn't need to put on waterproofs before setting out but I did put on my gaiters. I didn't want to get my pant legs wet and muddy from brushing against damp grass. Wet pant legs leads to wet socks which leads to yet more blisters. I felt like a right prat in the gaiters as the grass was far too short to be a problem. Many other walkers I met today were even wearing shorts. Fortunately an hour or so into the walk I encountered three separate walkers wearing them too so I didn't feel so foolish.
The climb back up to the top of the ridge wasn't as tough as I'd feared. It took an hour but wasn't too hard. Just as I got to the top there was a sudden flurry of rain. Out came all the wet weather gear but it only lasted about 20 minutes. It was a good lesson in how miserable, not to mention dangerous, it could be walking all that way along that ridge in bad weather. It was so flat and there were so few landmarks it would be easy to head off in the wrong direction if visibility was poor.
I mentioned this to some other walkers I met later on. They told me about a time they'd gone walking in the Peak District in March and got caught in a white-out. This is when there is snow on the ground and the cloud cover is so low you can't tell the boundary between land and sky. You have no sense of direction in these conditions. They had been following a path along flagstones with posts every so often. The snow was so deep on the path that many of the posts were covered and couldn't be seen. Also, snow covered the flagstones and if you missed a turn in the path you couldn't find your way back. At one point, after walking for an hour they came across their own footprints. They'd walked in a circle. Eventually they could hear a road and just head directly for it, hoping there were no steep cliffs or gullies in the way. In the end it took the 4 hours to walk 2 miles. Memo to self - never go walking in the Peak District in March.
Today I ran into all three couples I'd met in Llangattock Lingoed. Two had been staying at my B&B, while the other pair had sat at the table next to me at dinner. They all recognised me and said hello, which was both kind and lucky, as I didn't recognise any of them. One couple is using the same company I am - Celtic Trails, while the other two are using Contours Walking Holidays. Oddly enough the other Celtic Trails couple stayed at the pub in LL while the Contours people were at the Old Rectory with me. Tonight one of the Contours couples are at the same B&B as I am, while the other two couples are at a different one. I guess the companies like to share out their custom.
As I was getting to the end of the right, about an hour or so from Hay, I met a man going in the other direction. He was very worried as he was part of a group (which has passed me about 10 minutes earlier) but had been left behind. He was concerned he would lose them which he had no chance of doing. It was 4 hours of walking until you got to the cross path to Llanthony. He just needed to get a move on. Don't think much of a group walk that doesn't keep track of all its members.
Got into Hay just before 4pm which was a shame. Hay is famous for its second hand bookshops. Given that it was late on a Sunday most places were shut or shutting, so I was limited to staring longingly in windows. I wish I'd had the sense to organise a rest day in Hay. Tomorrow is a long day so there is no chance of shopping before heading off.
All seven of us ended up at the Blue Boar pub for dinner. I had a pint of Sharp's Doom Bar because all of the local ales were too hoppy for my taste. For dinner I had a chicken and mushroom pie with new potatoes and standard steamed veg. The others who had the pie said it was delicious but I thought the chicken was overcooked and the gravy was too glutinous and salty. I had a baked cheesecake for dessert which was delicious.
After dinner we all tottered off to our B&Bs and so to bed. We are not a riotous bunch. Too tired.
The climb back up to the top of the ridge wasn't as tough as I'd feared. It took an hour but wasn't too hard. Just as I got to the top there was a sudden flurry of rain. Out came all the wet weather gear but it only lasted about 20 minutes. It was a good lesson in how miserable, not to mention dangerous, it could be walking all that way along that ridge in bad weather. It was so flat and there were so few landmarks it would be easy to head off in the wrong direction if visibility was poor.
I mentioned this to some other walkers I met later on. They told me about a time they'd gone walking in the Peak District in March and got caught in a white-out. This is when there is snow on the ground and the cloud cover is so low you can't tell the boundary between land and sky. You have no sense of direction in these conditions. They had been following a path along flagstones with posts every so often. The snow was so deep on the path that many of the posts were covered and couldn't be seen. Also, snow covered the flagstones and if you missed a turn in the path you couldn't find your way back. At one point, after walking for an hour they came across their own footprints. They'd walked in a circle. Eventually they could hear a road and just head directly for it, hoping there were no steep cliffs or gullies in the way. In the end it took the 4 hours to walk 2 miles. Memo to self - never go walking in the Peak District in March.
Today I ran into all three couples I'd met in Llangattock Lingoed. Two had been staying at my B&B, while the other pair had sat at the table next to me at dinner. They all recognised me and said hello, which was both kind and lucky, as I didn't recognise any of them. One couple is using the same company I am - Celtic Trails, while the other two are using Contours Walking Holidays. Oddly enough the other Celtic Trails couple stayed at the pub in LL while the Contours people were at the Old Rectory with me. Tonight one of the Contours couples are at the same B&B as I am, while the other two couples are at a different one. I guess the companies like to share out their custom.
As I was getting to the end of the right, about an hour or so from Hay, I met a man going in the other direction. He was very worried as he was part of a group (which has passed me about 10 minutes earlier) but had been left behind. He was concerned he would lose them which he had no chance of doing. It was 4 hours of walking until you got to the cross path to Llanthony. He just needed to get a move on. Don't think much of a group walk that doesn't keep track of all its members.
Got into Hay just before 4pm which was a shame. Hay is famous for its second hand bookshops. Given that it was late on a Sunday most places were shut or shutting, so I was limited to staring longingly in windows. I wish I'd had the sense to organise a rest day in Hay. Tomorrow is a long day so there is no chance of shopping before heading off.
All seven of us ended up at the Blue Boar pub for dinner. I had a pint of Sharp's Doom Bar because all of the local ales were too hoppy for my taste. For dinner I had a chicken and mushroom pie with new potatoes and standard steamed veg. The others who had the pie said it was delicious but I thought the chicken was overcooked and the gravy was too glutinous and salty. I had a baked cheesecake for dessert which was delicious.
After dinner we all tottered off to our B&Bs and so to bed. We are not a riotous bunch. Too tired.
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