Day 8 - Kington to Knighton

Beer drunk: 1 pint
Distance walked: 23km, Time taken: 6 1/2 hours
Ascents: 789m, Descents: 811m

Well, the weather forecast wasn't exactly right but it wasn't a bright, sunny day today by any means. Instead, there was light drizzle that morphed into heavy drizzle on and off all day. It was also very overcast. In the early morning I was lucky if I could see more than 20-30m in any direction. This made navigating across large fields challenging. I just aimed at a blob on the (near) horizon and hoped it wasn't a sheep or, at least, it wouldn't move until I got close enough to get a bearing on another "fixed" point.

In spite of the weather and the visibility (or lack of it) I quite enjoyed today. It wasn't that cold so walking in all my waterproof gear kept me warm. The navigation was challenging enough to be interesting but not so challenging I got lost. In fact, I haven't been lost since the third day. I have two guidebooks. One with poor maps but detailed instructions. The other has excellent maps but sparse instructions. I was trying to combine the information from the two but have given up. I now just use a compass and a map and haven't lost my way since.

Back on the subject of my waterproofs.  In spite of the amount of money I spent on them they are better described as water resistants. I suppose that is only to be expected. If they were truly water proof I'd have sweated to death.

Today's walk involved climbing up to the top of three commons and then walking along them. Wild and windy on the tops and, supposedly, with fabulous views but I'll have to take their word for it. However, on the top of the third I did spot a herd of wild ponies drinking at a lake. One of the foals was nervous of me and tried to keep close to its mother, but she kept rolling around on the ground (far right) so he had to jump out of the way. He was not happy.

Tonight I stayed at the Knighton Hotel which was much more upmarket than the B&Bs I've been at previously. I felt rather out of place stomping in to reception in my muddy hiking clothes, but they were very friendly and welcoming.

I treated myself to dinner in their restaurant. I was the only guest which was a shame because the food was excellent. I started with a beetroot and goat's cheese salad. The beetroot had been done in several ways - pureed, pickled and made into oven chips. The combination had a lovely earthy taste. For main I had pork two ways - pan-fried loin and a cube of pork belly, served with potato rosti and brandied apple. The pork belly in particular was very fine - with crispy crackling and melt in the mouth meat. I treated myself to a banoffee creme brulee - that is a creme brulee with banana and caramel at the bottom. I washed this all down with a pint of Sharp's Perfect Storm.  This is a special edition porter which was only supposed to be available until the end of April - or until stocks last. They obviously lasted longer than expected. I don't know why because it was so good I was strongly tempted to have a second pint. I refrained because I was on the second floor of the hotel and, at that time, hadn't discovered the lift.  The building is Georgian (17th century) so the lift is very much a retrofit tucked away in an odd corner.

There are many oddly shaped buildings in this town. I shopped for lunch supplies at the local supermarket before settling in at the hotel. I had been directed there by a local but was somewhat dubious about it at first. On arrival all you can see is a slightly shabby petrol station. When you go inside, on the right hand side are the cash registers but on the left is the post office. If you go through the doorway at the back you are standing in a butcher's shop. Through a doorway to the right of that are yet more cash registers - this time for the supermarket. Down a short corridor on the left the building opens up in to a full sized supermarket. Heading for the far left hand corner of that and going down a ramp you are in a small department store! One of the staff described it as a Tardis. It was very apt.

I like this town. I could live here. Good food, good beer and this wonderfully crazy supermarket.