Glyndwr's Way : 2

Certainly a pretty part of the world, this.

I head back east from Machynlleth - I almost got to the coast, in fact I may just about have seen the sea in the distance.  I seem to be getting into slightly more inhabited parts, by which I mean, some of the valleys contain tiny villages, often even with a small shop.  Had I known these were there I could have planned to resupply, but it seems this is a part of the world that internet mapping sites are still unaware of...

Pretty though, and the weather just about holds up, it rains a little most days, and quite a lot at night, but decent walking weather really, all good fun, and I am even enjoying the luxury of proper campsites each evening now.  The first of these is essentially a farm in the middle of nowhere, but after that I get actual pubs with beer, wouldn't be much of a walking trip without these things.

Some of the many random bits of cloth and crochet decor in Meiford.

I continue towards the English border, not too far now, the terrain growing flatter and increasingly forested, I walk on gravel logging tracks much of the time.  Still not seeing many walkers - at one campsite I'm told they do get a lot of people doing it - as much as one or two every month!  Hmm.  People also tell me this is a tough walk, can't say it seems so to me.  Certainly not a terribly long one, I finish the thing in a little less than eight easy days, arriving in Welshpool in plenty of time to get my train.  In fact the train is cancelled, oh well, time for a bit of shopping and a beer before the next one.

Well, this was a good walk anyway, certainly recommended to anybody wanting to get away from it all!  I think the wild camping could be avoided if you were willing to fork out B&B prices, though personally I quite like being by myself in a wood for a night or two.  Do be prepared to get wet though - I think I was quite lucky with the weather, but even so I had a fair bit of bog to walk through.

I succeeded again!

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Glyndwr's Way : 1

Ruined Bryntail Lead Mine, with the Clywedog Dam on the River Severn behind.

Still in the UK, in what passes for summer in these benighted islands, it seems like a good idea to do another of the National Trails.  I settle on Glyndwr's Way, in mid Wales, finishing in Welshpool this will be handy for a festival I'm going to in nearby Shrewsbury.  I can't say this is a part of the world I'm that familiar with, so, nice to see somewhere new.

Starting from Knighton in Herefordshire, the route heads west through lovely countryside, rolling hills and valleys, and easy enough going, the trail seems to mostly be accessible to horses so not too steep.  I do meet one horse rider, and just a few walkers, several say I am the only hiker they've seen, this is not a busy trail.  Often there is no sign of a walked path across the sheep-filled fields, but there are plenty of signs, with that and my GPS I stay on track.

A representative shot of me, with Welsh countryside, light rain and sheep.

This doesn't seem a very well populated part of the world either...  Not exactly wilderness, above a certain height the fields give way to moorland, still with plenty of sheep, but most of this country is farmland, with little in the way of towns or villages.  I do enjoy a beer and burger in Llanidloes, no campsite though, in fact I camp wild my first four nights in Wales.  At least on the fourth night I have a couple of cans of beer from the second place on the Way with actual shops, Machynlleth.  More or less half way along the route, this is where Welsh hero Owain Glyndwr, for whom the Way is named, held his parliament as he briefly ruled an independent Wales at the turn of the fifteenth century.

Site of Owain Glydwr's parliament in Machynlleth.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.