Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in early May

This was to be a 3 day walking tour of an area of Britain I have never been to before but many recommended - the Pembrokeshire Coastal path. Our 3 days were curtailed by a the funeral of a family friend, so we walked in the end, a day and a half. We decided to stay in Dt Davids is a really poor hotel called TYF hotel. It markets itself as a Eco hotel which has to be translated as "we don't give a shit but will charge you the earth".

Offas Dyke - From Pandy to Knighton

Offas Dyke is English distance path built by King Offa around 770 ad to keep the Welsh out of the kingdom of Mercia. It slices from north to south straight over mountains and down valleys. This is a narrative of my adventures along this wonderful path. I set off on this walk assuming those pesky Saxons would take the easy route and dig a ditch taking into the contours of the hillsides and valleys. This assumption was utterly wrong. The Dyke runs primarily across hill tops and plummets into valleys and up the other side with a violence that can but only give me a sense of awe at the courage of those great Anglo Saxons.

This walk was taken over 2 trips, with the steep and strenuous section from Pandy to Hay on Wye with Maxwell and our lovely dog, bramble, and the next 3 days from Hay to Knighton via Kington with just myself and Bramble.

Offas Dyke is utterly beautiful. It runs over largely low or no populated areas which takes you into areas of England and Wales that are to date, the most under exploited countryside in the UK. It has the appearance of Hobbiton, in my minds eye as well as in the mind of Peter Jackson (lord of the rings). Soft rolling hills with the backdrop of the rugged and gorse covered black mountains.

The Pandy to Hay on Wye section, a 17 miles section, is up and over the black mountains. Its quite possible to do it in a day but if your like me and want to walk for pleasure rather than punishment, you can stop half way at a campsite by the river, half way along walk. The big disadvantage to this plan is the steep, near vertical climb that faces you first thing in the morning as you have to get off the ridge to find the campsite. Those cornflakes and coffee really sit heavy as you gasp for air climbing a heather and fern strewn path to the top. The rest of the walk is largely ridge walking to the descent into Hay.

The views are excellent along the ridge, with the Malverns vi sable to the east - into England, and the Welsh black mountains to the west. The only guide book worth taking is the OS guide to Offas Dyke (South). It contains all the history, path details you need and has suggested accommodation along the route. I have attached the Offas Dyke association website to the right as this has much more information and closes off any information gaps you may need. I did the first section over 2 days, with public transport for it all. It all worked fine, train from Birmingham new street to Aberswthwth. Bus to Hereford getting off at Pandy. The bus driver is pretty poor at telling you where to get off so keep your eyes peeled. Look for the pub in Pandy and get off there. The walk starts up the hill almost immediately behind the row of houses and the offas dyke sign is difficult to spot - so be prepared.

There is plenty of accommodation in Hay and its a well to do, conservative rural town famous for its book shops but I would say pretty good for its pubs as well. I camped in a site just to the north of the town with my son and dog. I have to say, I was knackered but managed to limp back into town for a meal and a pint.

The next section is Hay on Wye to Kington. Its much less arduous, less busy but very pretty. The Dyke is much more vi sable with much of the walk on top of the Dyke. I saw one other walker for the whole day. A word of warning. The Dyke does not go from settlement to settlement like a road of a "normal" path - it cuts across the country side with no bearing to human population. I say this because if you are planning to stop off in a pub for lunch, or pick up some water. provisions along the way then your out of luck. There is nothing. Just plan accordingly. This section is summarised as a long but easy climb, a easy descent and just when you feel like a nice rest by a fire and a pint, a bloody big hill sits between you and your desires. The last section is great as its a steep climb to the ridge, then a long descent down into Kington.

Kington is a sleepy town that has been picked out of a 1950's scene and dropped into 2008. For this reason, its charming. It has the butchers, baker and candlestick maker, a good looking church full of dull stuff and, the one thing that will stay with me, the direct descendant of Charles Darwin. In church farm is a bed and breakfast that is run by the Darwins. She is a dance teacher. He is a wine merchant. His great great great grandfather was the great man himself. A really nice family, in a lovely home, taking me and my dog for £35 a night. Breakfast was fab = can't be bettered.

The Kington the Knighton section starts with a steep climb to the highest golf course in the land. I hate golf but could see the merit in playing the game with some of the best views in the country. The day was clear and sunny and the only thing hindering my spirits was the previous days exhersions on my shins and legs. After 3 hours of walking, some relaxing of the laces, and a walking stick honed from oak, my legs recovered. I have taken the piss out of those middle aged walkers with poles and all the kit for years and wondered the point in carrying 2 glass fibre poles around, but can see the reason now. Still look bloody silly though.

You will see from the pictures and slideshow to the right that my dog has a set of red panniers on. This was so that she could carry here food and bedding rather then myself. My dog is 4 years old, so in dog years, she is 28. A 28 yr old should be able to carry her own stuff. I added 6 kg into the panniers and strapped her up. My 4 year old dog aged 10 years instantly. I had to carry her over every style (and there are 700 styles over offas dyke), which sort of defeated the point of giving me a rest. I unloaded her stuff, added 4 kg to me and let her carry her food. This only aged her 2 years but gave me 4 kg of weight I really didn't need - mainly water. As offas dyke is largely up and down hill and valley, there is always plenty of water for your dog to find to drink. You don't need to carry it. The only exception is the Pandy to Hay section, which is ridge walking all the way and you need plenty of water for all.

The kington to knighton section is similar to the previous really. Lots of Dyke walking, little villages passed, no other walkers, pretty picture postcard landscapes and Knighton. Knighton ain't much. It is a town created for the dyke and is the "head quarters" of the footpath, with an exhibition in the town that would put you off walking the footpath for ever . It is set in a bunker as you leave the town on the right hand side, keeping to the footpath that is very poorly signposted. Considering that the towns only industry is really tourism centred around walking the Dyke, then it fails. Accommodation is poor. I found one pub worth going to (down the bottom - can't remember its name). The town councilors have got so close to the detail, they have forgotten the basics - like the path signposts, quality accommodation, dog friendly pubs and keeping the town clean and neat. Pity, as the surrounding countryside is wonderful. The town transverses Wales and England, and so seems to fall under no ones remit.