......The
guy behind the bar has delegated the cab finding to the lady behind the desk
this morning but, by 7:30, she has been unable to complete the task having
received no reply from the numbers she's called. News is that Robin Williams is
dead - or perhaps not "news" for John who doesn't know who Robin
Williams is. But over a good breakfast we are given the more immediately
important news that, in the absence of cabs, our breakfast chef Hayley will
drive us back to Brompton Crossroads. The forecast is for showers throughout
the day and the first one - both brief and light - arrives during the first
half hour as we cross farmland to the east of Montgomery. With no sign of the
Australian couple coming the other way, we continue along flat stretches, and a
first is "achieved" when Gary manages to fall through a cattle grid
(thankfully not deep), thus somewhat belatedly fulfilling the predictions 45
years earlier of less than encouraging school "friends" before cross
country runs. A heavy shower arrives but, once again, it's reasonably brief and
proves to be the final one we encounter. Once through Lynmore Park and over the
River Camlad (another well known waterway after the Unk of yesterday), we
encounter a few climbs through the Leighton Estate - where there's a further
minor cross-track error - and up to the Beacon Ring hill fort. However,
although longer ascents than yesterday's, they're not as steep and are
generally along estate roads and broad tracks, so not too problematic. Indeed,
the consequent 1,000 feet descent through fields into Buttington is, if
anything, more testing. We've decided to continue beyond Buttington to Pool
Quay, first because we have the time to get another couple of miles ticked off
and secondly because the Powis Arms at Pool Quay seems to be an appropriate
stopping point. A cab is booked to take us from there to Welshpool at 2:30 and an
ETA of 2:00 will afford the time for a relaxed cider or two plus a bite to eat.
At least that's the theory. After crossing Buttington Bridge and some fields,
and walking for a mile or so alongside the Montgomery Canal, we arrive at the
Powis Arms on schedule - only to find it closed. However, a quick phone call
gets the cab to us in 5 minutes and we're in Welshpool by 2:15 after a journey
which, whilst of the same distance as the one yesterday evening, costs £10
less. We're dropped at the "Old Station" which, conveniently, is
adjacent to the current/new station and, just as conveniently, purveys bottles
of cider and sandwiches. Rather inconveniently, Gary realises that he's left
the Trail Guide somewhere - probably in the garden of the Powis Arms - but, a
couple of bottles of cider and a sandwich later, it's time to walk over the
bridge (Ben armed with the remnants of his second bottle) to catch the train(s)
home.
Day 57 - Knighton to Brompton Crossroads/Montgomery
Ben and Gary
travel via Newport and John joins them at Hereford for the rest of the journey
to Ludlow and then, courtesy of Colin/Carwyn (actually Owen) to the George and
Dragon in Knighton. Subject to an earlier heavy shower in Newport, there's no
evidence of the tail end of ex-hurricane Bertha - a breezy day, but dry and
generally bright. We set off from the George and Dragon just before opening
time, so no temptation to delay what could be a testing 15+ miles to Brompton
Crossroads (see Guide's description - day 56 above). Things start with a
longish climb to the top of Panpunton Hill and, soon afterwards, a
"cross-track error" when we don't take heed of the Guide's warning
that the "path is easy to miss" and duly miss a downward track
through some gorse towards a white cottage. When realisation dawns, we decide
not to retrace our steps and, instead, reach the cottage by ploughing downhill
through some of the waist high local flora. We pass Garbett Hall - our
originally proposed end point on day 56 - after 90 minutes or so walking, and
continue around Llanfair Hill to Springhill. Not long afterwards, we see the
Offa's Dyke midpoint signpost showing that we are 88.5 miles from both Sedbury
Cliffs and Prestatyn. This is also around the start of the series of short but
steep climbs and descents which will make our progress to Brompton Crossroads -
and the Blue Bell Inn - a tad slower than would otherwise be the case. We
eventually emerge through the arched gateway of Mellington Hall and the short
road to the Blue Bell at about 5:50 - conveniently close to opening time.
However, even after phoning the Dragon Hotel in Montgomery where we're staying
to ask them to arrange for a cab to collect us by 6:30, we still need to alert
the landlady to our presence before the doors of the pub are opened. It
transpires that she has been in charge of the establishment since 1966 but,
despite her taking a little bit of time to get our drinks, and the cab arriving
closer to 6:20 than 6:30, there's time and inclination to get through a couple
of ciders before we leave. The cab has, in fact, come from Welshpool - the
Hotel's usual local cabbie (Colin Montgomery??!!) being unavailable due to a
recent stroke. As a result, although it's a mere 3 miles from the pub to
Montgomery, we're charged the princely sum of £15 for the journey. Our earlier
swift two ciders dissuade us from having another immediately after check-in.
Instead, after freshening up and changing, we move straight to glasses of wine
before supper - in the company of an Australian couple who now live in
Gloucestershire and who are walking the Dyke from north to south. We exchange a
few experiences of our respective routes and overnight stops and, given that
the couple finished their day to the north of Montgomery, we half anticipate
that our paths will cross early tomorrow. We restrict supper to just a very
substantial main course - plus a bottle of red - after which Ben retires
leaving John and Gary to have a double and single sticky respectively whilst
trying to arrange a cab for tomorrow morning. The guy behind the bar says he'll
see what he can do.......
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