OFFAS DYKE
Offa"s Dyke is another Coast to Coast long distance walk it follows a line skirting the English /Welsh Border much of this is on the line of Offa"s Dyke an ancient earthwork built between 757 & 796 AD by King Offa the ruler of Mercia for further information see http://www.offasdyke.demon.co.uk/dyke.htm
It is approximately 177 miles in length, the accepted route is South to North starting on the banks of the Severn Estuary near Chepstow and finishing on the North Wales Coast at Prestatin.
We commenced this walk 31st March 06 (lets hope we can complete this walk quicker than the 6 and 1/4 years it took us to do the Coast to Coast) When I say we it refers to me and my mate Paul who do the walking and our wives Hillary and Marjorie who are the support team checking out the shops, hotels and cafes en route
We managed to complete the section between Chepstow and Monmouth on our first weekend. We based ourselves at The Wye Valley Hotel Tintern. This is a comfortable hotel and was featured in the film Arthur's Dyke apparently we were in the "bonking room" After our experiences getting snowed in on the Coast to Coast it was rather novel this time to be cut off by floods at times. The floods affected the low lying areas of Tintern and some of the low level sections of the walk around Tintern and Brockweir but did not cause us any problems on the walk itself. This first section was fairly easy going, a bit muddy in parts but nothing compared to the peat bogs on the Pennine Way.
Our second visit was undertaken in August 06 and we commenced at Monmouth. The weather for the weekend was very warm in the high 70s which made it hard going on the climbs. with it being high season we also had difficulty getting accommodation and ended a bit off track at the Beaufort Arms in Raglan. We were in the stable block where the rooms are cheaper but also on the small side they were newly decorated and clean I thought they were OK but Hilary found it a bit claustrophobic. The food was good and described as Modern British it was a bit on the rich side and something a bit plainer would have been appreciated now and again. We got as far as Newchurch which is just North of Hay on Wye. One of the highlights was the diversion to Llanthony and the Abbey it also coincided with the local agricultural show so the girls had a good alternative day out the only drawback was that we had a tough steep climb at the start of the following day took a good half hour in the heat apparently the fell runners from the show went up and down in about 25 mins. We also took the diversion at Hay Moss and managed to see the Para gliders taking off. Due to other commitments we are unlikely to be making further progress this year.
The view South towards The Skirrid from Hatterall Hill
After a delay of 18 month or so due to illnesses we resumed the walk in March 08. on this occasion we based ourselves at the Mortimer's Cross Inn in Herefordshire. The inn has recently been renovated and offers clean comfortable accommodation and the Jacuzzi baths were a bonus following a days walking. The inns public rooms are somewhat bizarrely furnished in a strange eclectic manner the breakfast were very good but the lunch and dinner menus and quality were disappointing and expensive.
The weather was extremely mixed, The first day was bright and sunny so it was ideal for us to get back in the swing and we did the stretch form Newchurch to Kington. The second day was a bit mixed with sunshine and showers but we kept reasonably dry and after an initial loss of way in Kington we made it to our objective of Dolley Green. Fortunately we had only left ourselves the 5 or 6 mile stretch to Knighton for the following day the weather that day was horrendous with torrential rain at times so by the time we reached our destination at the Offa"s Dyke Visitor Centre we were well and truly soaked
Resumed again in Nov 08 this time we based ourselves at the Lion Hotel Berriew the hotel was comfortable but the decor dated the food was very good. The hotel is a favorite for shooting parties staying in the area. The weather to start was good but the lay off between walks, creeping old age and the strenuous terrain meant we miss judged our timing for meeting the support team at Newchurch and found ourselves in pitch darkness about 3 miles short of our goal. The track at this point was not clearly defined so we diverted to a nearby road, we then had problems trying to communicate via mobiles but after another hour or so walking and the support team driving up out of the valley we made contact and with the help of a passing lady dog walker and flashing of torches and headlights across valleys we were picked up. The following day was a difficult start with the steep climb out of Newchurch but got easier as the day progressed and the weather deteriorated and we reached our objective of Montgomery on time.
