Day 59 (no Gary) – 4 September 2014 Pool Quay to near Oswestry

Despite Gary’s enforced absence looking after his mum, John and Ben went ahead with the walk on 4/5 Sept. Perhaps surprisingly, Ben managed to get the right train at Euston and negotiate a change at Birmingham International. John then joined him at Birmingham New Street and the depleted party arrived in good order at Welshpool station (the one that serves a by-pass) soon after 10. Taxi Johnny deposited us at the pub at Pool Quay, which at that hour had more of an excuse for not being open than usual, but a search of the outside revealed no trace of Gary’s guide to the Offa’s Dyke Path (north). A nasty-sounding dog put us off asking at the door.

A pleasant if unremarkable couple of hours along the canal and by the Severn (which at that point is describing a long clockwise turn and flowing east – we left it eventually and struck north again), eventually took us to Four Crosse. Here for the first time on that day we managed to get a bit lost, in a cemetery of all places from which we eventually emerged by retracing our steps to find Parson’s lane. Another bit of canalside action, and since it was rather warm, with nine miles under our belts we decided to reward ourselves with a lunch stop a – the Dolphin at Llanymynech where we doubled the lunchtime crowd and, remarkably reduced its average age. The pub did us a good sandwich though.

The walk after lunch was more undulating – we climbed up around the side of a hill and were soon crossing Llanymynech golf course, possibly more famous for being Ian Woosnam’s home course than the fact that Ben had played there once on a cricket tour. Some quite demanding ups and downs, not helped by a sign for ice creams put up by children who turned out to have consumed their stock, brought us to Moelydd Uchaf.  A fine crest with commanding views.  From there it was downhill all the way to the end of the day’s walk just before 6 30:  the crossroads of the path with theB4580, where Taxi Johnny from Oswestry (more about him on day 60) was soon persuaded to turn up and take us to our designated pub at Whittington. Total distance 18.7 miles in 7 hours 5 minutes.