Day 65
Churchtown to Forden: 10 miles
Dedication of the Day: To King Offa
Reason: This guy must have had a lot of command-power to get people to build an earthwork straight up hillsides like this. I'm wondering when I'm going to get to a sheer rock wall and see a portion of the Dyke just climb straight up it.
So today started out like yesterday ended - with very steep rises and drops along the actual remains of Offa's Dyke, and with me occasionally stopping to shake my fist in the air and yell 'Offa, you bastard!' to no one in particular. But I know he heard me.
But of course, there were cows
The countryside around the undulating hills is really gorgeous. Although I started around Churchtown in a pine forest, that later gives way to tiny hedgerow lined fields alternating between livestock and crops. Unfortunately at least one of these was steep enough on the downslope that I was basically baby-stepping my way down the slick grass path.
Additional problems included that I seemed to have hurt my right knee yesterday, which is never a good thing. Also the gel we'd put on the crack in my shoe was now working it's way entirely out of position. So to tally that up, it's one gimpy hip, one gimpy knee and one consistently wet foot.
Anyway, the views. At one point the view was particularly expansive, opening up to both the hills in North Wales and what I assume is a giant hill in Shropshire. After that point, though, you could see the trail dropping into a basin for a while. I followed it down into a small tree and barbed wire fence lined path between two fields. On my left were a few cows pasturing in a field. Same on my right. Then I realized they were also in front of me.
The path came to a very small fenced in clearing, and clearly the cows had somehow gotten out of the fields they were supposed to be in, and now there were 30 of them congregating right in the middle of the path. Forest cows. One of my least favorite kinds of cows. Along with hill cows, field cows, grass cows, and pasture cows.
I moved to just walk through them, and so of course they placed themselves in an even tighter formation along the path. From the angle I was at it also looked like they were trying to hide behind trees, I assume to eventually pop out and scare me.
I backed off and of course a few started following me down the path, so I found a spot where there was a cut out under one of the field fences to the side of me, and rather than fill it with barbed wire, the farmer had instead put in several long wooden poles very close together. I literally just managed to squeeze through, and when I got up, found myself in another field. Full of cows.
This time the cows were largely on the other side of the field, so I slowly walked through them as they all turned to stare silently at me while the forest cows mooed unseen from the path I'd left.
Having left the path, of course I now had to find my way back to it, after making my way around the forest cows, who were amassing at the fence as I went past. I was also slightly worried because this was at a time when it was very likely P was going to be coming down the other way. But I figured with the cows in the road he'd get stuck too, so we'd probably run into each other eventually.
As it turned out, everything really came together perfectly. I got to the end of the field and was contemplating the wire fence with three strands of barbed wire over it, and how I might use one of the wooden boards on the other side of the fence to climb over, when P walked by on the other side. As it turns out, I wouldn't have had much of a chance getting over the fence myself - even with him there, a conveniently placed tree for hanging onto, several random boards and my best efforts to impersonate Welshwoman Catherine Zeta Jones in the movie Entrapment, my clothing got inconveniently attached to barbed wire several times. Also to be fair I'm like super inflexible, I'm sure CZJ would have had far less trouble.
Eventually of course, I did get through. And so we made our way through relative flatlands, being constantly welcomed to Shropshire without knowing we'd left England in the first place, as apparently the path winds back and forth over the border several times here.
Montgomery - the trail advertising worked
After we'd eaten lunch on a convenient log, and P had driven off to a Forden to walk back to me from there, I passed by the two connecting roads to Montgomery. The smallest county town in England or Wales, it doesn't have a long illustrious history - other than that it's named for one of the most powerful Marcher lords on the border - Robert de Montgomery. But I'd met two people yesterday who told me I had to go there, and when I saw the advertisements, leaflets and signs on the connecting roads - I thought I might try it out.
So when I met P in surprisingly short order, we made our way quickly to Forden, got in the car and headed to Montgomery. With it's castle perched above the town overlooking flat fields, and a lovely town square and several inns and restaurants, it was a peaceful, charming site. So we first headed for a quiet pub outside the center, and then to the half timbered Dragon Inn (made at least in part of stonework taken from the castle centuries ago).
Though of course I would also have enjoyed it's neighbor with the Michelin star - the Dragon Inn oozed charm all on its own, and I had a wonderful steak frites and a Black Forest mousse dessert that was absolutely amazing. I'm drooling even thinking about it. I liked it so much that when we returned to our hostel in Clun, and I was asked what the best part of our day out was, I said 'dessert'.
He thought I was kidding - but when you spend this amount of time everyday outside - sometimes the best part of the day is really when you're inside, comfortable, and someone's feeding you. Black Forest Mousse.
