N.B. We forgot to say last night that we had rounded off our evening with drinks at the Olde Tavern. This was a traditional but very friendly beer drinkers pub. We were made to feel very welcome and there was a good choice of real ales which we just had to sample. The hosts are new there and we believe it will get even better, so do visit if you find yourself in Kington.
So Kington gets a paws up from us.
The ODP climbed steadily out of Kington onto the Hergest Ridge. What a ridge walk this was. We cannot extol its virtues enough. There were 2 special treats for us, the first being the path crossing another old racecourse, this one last used in 1880. It was very obvious when we'd reached the racecourse as the 1 mile oval track could still be seen. We split into 2 parties so we could walk the entire racetrack, one party circling left and the other right, so we could get a feel of what it would have been like to race round. We could see the imprint of horses hooves in the turf, and with the wind in our fur it was quite atmospheric.
Our other special treat, as if the glorious views weren't enough, was to see a herd of wild ponies with a number of foals. We held our breath as they came past us, then they gathered to drink at a watering hole. It was a special moment.
Then the next joy of the day was descending into Newchurch to find that the church there (St. Mary's) provided a kettle, tea, coffee and squash for walkers. It must be nearly 100 miles since the last church (at Llandegla) which offered refreshments. Given the fact that refreshment stops, except for at our overnight stays, are virtually non existent on the ODP, this is a vital service churches can, but rarely do, offer, so we'll done St Mary's.
We must be getting into our stride, as we covered our 16 miles to Hay on Wye, with about 820 m of ascent, quite quickly and were in Hay by about
16:20 - I think this had something to do with getting our minders there with time to look round Hay's many second hand bookshops before they closed. Mind you, fast though we might have been, on the way we met a very nice man who was walking Hay to Knighton today - that's a walk we've done in 2 days and a distance of nearly 39 miles. We bet he drinks Carling Black Label!
Our B&B tonight has the wonderful name of Rest for the Tired. We've got a lovely little suite and we're well situated for the town centre. Tonight we are in the Red Indigo Indian Restaurant where, if starters are anything to go by, the food is very good. It's nice and quiet in town tonight but it will be very different in 2 days time when the Hay Literary Festival starts.
Lots of love George, Yorkie and Gio xxx
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1 comment:
Well jell! That does sound like a lovely day from start to finish. You must be as fit and lean by now as the race horses who once galloped round the racecourse!
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