Distance walked: 24km, Time taken: 8 hours
Ascents: 1,251m, Descents: 1,224m
Most of today's walk was through Shropshire rather than Wales. I have decided I do not like Shropshire. It is hilly and most of the hills are convex. That is, they get steeper as you get to the top. This is not my imagination. You can see this in the elevation plot above.
Today was brutal. My guidebooks said this was the hardest section and they weren't kidding. There was barely any level ground at all. It was pretty much all up and down (and up and down). It was also overcast and drizzly again so muddy and slippery. I fell down three times and got fairly coated in mud. It was also supposed to be the day with the very best views but all I saw was cloud and/or the muddy path in front of me.
The official stage for today goes on another 3km but my version of this trip had me stopping just after the last climb and calling my hostess for the evening to come and get me. There were 4 other walkers staying at my B&B. A brother and sister and their respective spouses. They are doing on the second half of the Offa's Dyke trail so their first day was today. I can't imagine starting with today. I'd be tempted to pack my bags and go home.
It turns out the four of them had been staying at the Knighton Hotel too. I saw them leaving as I went down to breakfast which had me rather worried I was setting off late. I didn't get to the end of the day's walk until 5:45pm. However, even though the four of them had set off an hour earlier they only arrived 15 minutes before me. They confirmed my view that the Knighton wasn't used to walkers. Even though our respective tour companies have pre-paid for our accomodation we all got presented with a bill. They also were rather surprised by notion that we were leaving our suitcases behind and someone who come and collect them for us. They weren't trying to rip us of, just clearly new to the whole providing room to walkers. For that matter, they might just be new to running a hotel.
Dinner tonight was french onion soup - very tasty, followed by lasagna with salad and bake potatoes. This must be a standard dish in the B&B owner's handbook. Very odd. Again, not what I would could lasagna but pleasant enough. For dessert the others had apple and raspberry crumble but I gave it a miss.
The people here were very hospitable but I didn't sleep well as the bed was very uncomfortable. This was a shame as I was completely knackered.
Tomorrow is supposed to be easier.
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