Offa's Dyke: Hay-on-Wye to Kington

It's good to be on the Offa's Dyke path again, and with neither the aching thigh that bugged my last walk, nor the cough that I'd been trying to shake off for the past few weeks. 

52 miles of trail now lie behind us. This next stretch of the walk would be 14½ miles long, with a couple of steep ascents to test our fitness. It would therefore be good, I reckoned, to make an early start so that we could take our time and enjoy the views, so we booked a night at this place - Rest for the Tired. The bicycle wheel, high on the wall, is a relic of the time when this was a café, popular with cyclists. These days it's one of Hay-on-Wye's many bookshops and a B&B where Ann serves amazing breakfasts from 7.15am − perfect!

By 8-o'clock on a sunny Saturday morning we were crossing Hay Bridge, where our last walk ended. There had hardly been a drop of rain since we were last here and the water level had dropped noticeably. I've heard that those hiring canoes have had to amend their routes as stretches of the river are too shallow to navigate.

After a steady climb from the River Wye the trail follows quiet country lanes and tracks before descending gently to Newchurch. Exactly when the little church of St Mary's (just visible in the photo above) was built is uncertain, but their well-written website states that the font is 10th century... so it's been a 'new church' for a very long time!

The climb from Newchurch onto Disgwylfa Hill turned out to be the toughest of the day, but we were rewarded with some lovely views.

The Royal Oak at Gladestry is perfectly located to provide rest and sustenance for the second steep climb of the day, up Broken Bank to the Hergest Ridge. The pub has suffered from a succession of lacklustre landlords, one of whom had a reputation for watering down the whisky! Thankfully, it's now being run by a friendly fellow who has done much to revive the pub's fortunes. I wish him well. 

My Trailblazer guide to Offa's Dyke describes the Hergest Ridge as another candidate for the best section of the entire trail.  The views are truly magnificent. 

Here's the view looking back towards Hay-on-Wye, with Hay Bluff prominent on the skyline and Lord Hereford's Knob to its right.

This group of Monkey Puzzle trees mark the summit of the trail over Hergest Ridge. They were planted many years ago by the owners of Hergest Croft Gardens in Kington.

According to Wikipedia, it was a gentleman in Cornwall in the 1850's who was first heard to remark, "It would puzzle a monkey to climb that." The name stuck.  Now that I've been close enough to touch the tree's tough leaves, I can confirm that no monkey in its right mind would even attempt a climb; they're really sharp!

From here it was a gentle descent to The Swan Hotel in Kington, where the lamb shank is delicious and the beds are lovely and soft.