Offa's Dyke Path - Index of Posts

Back in January of this year I walked my final section of the Offa's Dyke Path, which I had been walking in sections since January 2012, and this post is an index to all my blog posts on the subject.  As on previous long distance paths, I adopted a section walking approach using a combination a trains, buses and occasionally taxis to allow me to walk 2, 3 or 4 days of the path at a time.  I also deviated from the route in various places, either to climb extra hills, take a short-cut or to reach transport home; therefore these are reflected in the distance and ascent figures below.

Moel Arthur from the south

The first section I walked was from Prestatyn on the North Wales coast to the village of Llandegla over two days, including a lovely traverse of the Clwydian Range in January 2012.  Here are my posts on each day:

• Day 1: Prestatyn to Bodfari - 21km, 680m ascent
• Day 2: Bodfari to Llandegla - 28km, 1280m ascent

One of the first sections of the Offa's Dyke that I encountered

Then in early March 2012, I walked my second section of the trail from from Llandegla to Welshpool over three days, which included my first section of the Offa's Dyke itself.  Here are my daily posts:

• Day 3: Llandegla to Trevor - 21.5km, 750m ascent
• Day 4: Trevor to Llanymynech - 30.5km, 980m ascent
• Day 5: Llanymynech to Welshpool - 20km, negligible ascent

Beacon Ring hill fort from the SW

Next it was a two day section from Welshpool to Knighton, including Beacon Ring and The Switchbacks, in early March 2013:

• Day 6: Welshpool to Mellington Hall Campsite - 24km, 670m ascent
• Day 7: Mellington Hall Campsite to Knighton - 24.5km, 1250m ascent

Hatterrall Hill

Easter 2013 saw me walk in the snow from Knighton to Pandy, via Kington, Hergest Ridge and the Black Mountains, and then on over Ysgyryd Fawr to Abergavenny station:

• Day 8: Knighton to Kington - 22km, 730m ascent
• Day 9: Kington to Hay-on-Wye - 24.5km, 900m ascent
• Day 10: Hay-on-Wye to Pandy - 27km, 800m ascent
• Day 10a: Pandy to Abergavenny - 12km, 410m ascent

Chepstow Castle

Finally this January I returned to Abergavenny and walked from near Pandy to Sudbury Cliffs over two and a half days.  This was a mainly stormy weekend, but it was bright and sunny when I finished the path at Sedbury Cliffs.  Here are my posts on the three days:

• Day 11: Near Pandy to Monmouth - 26km, 460m ascent
• Day 12: Monmouth to Chepstow - 28.5km, 1120m ascent
• Day 13: Chepstow to Sedbury Cliffs - 6.5km, 150m ascent

The Offa's Dyke Path was the second National Trail that I've walked (the first was the Pennine Way) and I found it to be an enjoyable long distance path to walk with plenty of variety.

Offa's Dyke Path - Day 13: Chepstow to Sedbury Cliffs

Monday 27th January 2014 

A short morning walk down to Sedbury Cliffs to finish the Offa's Dyke Path :-) 

Distance: 6.5km; Ascent: 150m; Mainly sunny; Solo

See tracked route in new window

After yesterday's wet day, today dawned bright and sunny :-)  I set off walking from outside Chepstow castle at around 9am and crossed back over the old bridge into England, with good views to the steep limestone cliffs above the tidal River Wye.

Chepstow Castle

Chepstow Castle from the old bridge

For the next couple of kilometres my route took me along urban footpaths and through housing estates before I met the Offa's Dyke again near Buttington Tump.  A pleasant half-kilometre of walking along the dyke was all I had left to complete the Offa's Dyke Path.

Last section of Offa's Dyke

Soon I reached a large stone at the top of Sedbury Cliffs, which marks the southern end of the Offa's Dyke Path.  I rested here for a few minutes to contemplate the completion of my second National Trail, which I had started almost two years ago to the day.

Plaque marking the southern end of the Offa's Dyke Path

Just finished the Offa's Dyke Path :-)

There were good views from here across the River Severn and downstream towards the old Severn Bridge.  After feeling suitably refreshing I decided it was time to return to Chepstow, but by way of a slightly different route to make this morning's walk a bit of a circular walk instead.  A path ran SW along the top of the cliffs to reach the edge of the foreshore, again with good views towards the Severn Bridge.

The Severn Bridge from below Sedbury Cliffs

I followed an alternative footpath back to the road and Buttington Tump and then as time was getting on I decided to follow the road through Sedbury directly back to Chepstow.  I arrived back at the hotel at around quarter to 11 and just had time for a quick shower and to finish packing up before the check out time of 11am.  I now had a little over an hour before my train home, so I decided to go for a wander around the impressive ruins of Chepstow Castle.

The River Wye from Chepstow Castle

Chepstow Castle's 12th century doors

Chepstow Castle

The Great Tower, Chepstow Castle

Looking down the Wye from Chepstow Castle

Chepstow Castle

After spending 45 minutes or so exploring the castle and climbing the various spiral staircases to viewpoints on the tops of towers I headed for the station after a good 2.5 days walking along the southern most part of the Offa's Dyke Path.

See also my Social Hiking live map from the walk.

Offa's Dyke Path - Day 12: Monmouth to Chepstow

Sunday 26th January 2014 

My last full day of walking along the Offa's Dyke Path, from Monmouth down the Wye Valley to Chepstow 

Distance: 28.5km; Ascent: 1120m; Heavy rain followed by sunshine and blustery showers; Solo

See tracked route in new window

I woke early this morning to check the updated weather forecast: the heavy rain was now forecast to end around lunchtime, so therefore I didn't hurry to set off as there was a chance I might get some dry weather walking done in the afternoon!  The boiler appeared to have been fixed overnight so I was actually able to have a shower before having breakfast and setting off walking in full waterproofs at around 9:30am.  The first ascent of the day brought me to the deserted grounds of The Kymin, from where there were reasonable views back down to Monmouth.

Looking W from The Kymin

The Kymin Roundhouse

After a short break in the rain on one of the handily located benches overlooking Monmouth, I followed the Offa's Dyke Path south to a good track, which gave quick walking down to Redbrook.  After a section of road walking through the village, I began to ascend again - this time on a very wet path with views back to the old railway bridge at Lower Redbrook.

A wet morning near Lower Redbrook

Soon I met up with the Offa's Dyke again, for the first time since Kington, and I followed it southwards through fields and woodland, some of it owned by the Woodland Trust.  By the time I reached the southern end of the woods it had finally stopped raining!  So I decided to stop for lunch at a usefully located picnic table by the deserted car park.

Bigsweir Bridge

From here I had a choice of routes as the map shows two alternatives for the Offa's Dyke Path.  Given the time I decided to take the riverside option, which is apparently the easier option.  I followed the pleasant riverside path, which was muddy in places, downstream next to the muddy waters of the River Wye.  About half-way between Bigsweir and Brockweir the path had been eroded by the river, which according to the Gloucestershire Council sign happened last May.  However by following the instructions on the sign I was able to negotiate a route around this bank slip and continue my progress downstream.

River Wye between Bigsweir and Brockweir

At Brockweir I stopped for a quick break on a handy bench overlooking Brockweir Quay, which was apparently the last tidal quay for boats travelling up the River Wye.

Brockweir Quay and Bridge

An ascent of almost 200m from Brockweir brought me back to the Offa's Dyke itself in Caswell Wood.  Continuing on through the woods, I came to a footpath sign that indicated that it was only another 6.5 miles to Sedbury Cliffs, where I would be finishing the Offa's Dyke Path tomorrow morning.

Back on the Offa's Dyke itself

Only 6.5 miles to go!

For much of this section, the views down into the Wye Valley were severely restricted by the woodland.  However at the Devil's Pulpit and Plumweir Cliff there were gaps in the trees, which afforded excellent views across the the valley to the remains of Tintern Abbey.

Tintern Abbey from the Devil's Pulpit

Tintern Abbey from Plumweir Cliff

After a bit more woodland walking I reached the busy B4228 road, which I followed for a few hundred metres before picking up a footpath again.  By now it was getting late and the light was beginning to fade, so when I next reached the B4228 road I decided to follow it instead.  There was a fine view into the valley from the top of Wintour's Leap - however I didn't linger long here as a hail storm had just arrived!  I continued along the B4228 to the northern edge of Tutshill, where I followed a combination of minor roads and paths down to the river at Chepstow's old bridge.  My accommodation for the evening lay a short walk away, opposite the castle, and I enjoyed a roast dinner that evening after my longest day's walking in several months.

See also my Social Hiking live map from the walk.

Offa's Dyke Path - Day 11: Pandy to Monmouth

Saturday 25th January 2014 

A return to the Offa's Dyke Path to walk from near Pandy, past White Castle to reach Monmouth 

Distance: 26km; Ascent: 460m; Dry with occasional sunshine, followed by heavy rain; Solo

See tracked route in new window (although today's GPS track seems slightly offset compared to the Offa's Dyke Path on the map for some reason)

Many months had passed since I last walked a section of the Offa's Dyke Path over the very snowy Easter weekend last year, so I arranged to return this weekend to finish it in just over 2 days of walking.  After catching an early morning train to Abergavenny I attempted to board the bus to Pandy only to be told that it had broken down and it could be up to two hours before a replacement arrives!  Unfortunately I was on a bit of a tight schedule and hence decided to take a taxi instead in an attempt to ensure I still finished my walk in the daylight! However one advantage of the taxi was that I was able to get dropped off at the exact point that I left the Offa's Dyke Path on Easter Monday last year (pictured below).

Back on the Offa's Dyke Path

I set off down the farm lane and across the muddy fields at around quarter past ten this morning in the sunshine.  By the time I reached the small village of Llangattock Lingoed just under an hour later, I was plastered in mud due to slipping over whilst descending a steep section of muddy grass :(  At this point I was extremely glad I had packed a change of clothes for the pub this evening!

Fields NW of Llangattock Lingoed

St Cadoc's Church, Llangattock Lingoed

I stopped for a break on the picnic bench outside the medieval St Cadoc's Church in the small village of Llangattock Lingoed.  Continuing southwards I crossed the B4521 and ascended up to the impressive ruins of White Castle, which dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. I spent a while wandering around the ruins and climbing one of the towers, from the top of which there were excellent views across to Ysgyryd Fawr.

White Castle moat

Looking W to Ysgyryd from White Castle

White Castle

After exploring the ruins I found a handy picnic bench in the grounds for a spot of lunch, before heading down the road to Llantilio Crossenny to avoid yet more potentially very muddy fields (and to catch up the time I'd spent looking around the castle!)  A bit more road walking brought me to a path through lots of cider apple orchards, which looked a bit bare at the moment due to the time of year.

Cider apple orchard

By now the wind was really starting to pick up as the weekend storm approached, so I didn't hand around for long as I descended eastwards towards the Trothy valley.  Soon I passed the church of St. Michael's of the Fiery Meteor, whose porch provided welcome temporary shelter from the wind and rain!

St. Michael's of the Fiery Meteor

Very heavy rain now set in, so I donned full waterproofs and headed off down the path on the south banks of the River Trothy to meet a minor road.  Beyond here there was a signed alternative route for use in wet conditions, which I concluded today certainly qualified as! This alternative route stayed slightly higher that the main route through the waterlogged fields to my right, although it was still pretty muddy.

Suggested diversion

Wet conditions!

The heavy rain shower was over in around half an hour, followed by a nice rainbow.  I ascended eastwards into the King's Wood on a good track to reach a bench near the high point of the track, where I stopped for a quick break at around sunset.

Rainbow

Continuing eastwards in fading light I descended through woodland and fields to reach the minor road of Watery Lane on the western edge of Monmouth.  A road walk, lit by head torch and then street lights, to the town centre then followed before I reached my accommodation for the evening, where somewhat annoyingly the boiler was broken!  I refuelled on curry and real ale before turning in for an early night at 9pm after a long day.

See also my Social Hiking live map from the walk.

Offa's Dyke Path - Day 10a: Pandy to Abergavenny

Monday 1st April 2013 

A morning walk from Pandy over the hill of Ysgyryd Fawr to reach the train station at Abergavenny

Distance: 12km; Ascent: 410m; Overcast, windy with occasional light snow; Solo

See tracked route in new window

After yesterday's very long day walking in the Black Mountains, I decided that something shorter was in order for today.  I needed to end up in Abergavenny in order to catch the train home this afternoon, so the hill of Ysgyryd Fawr seemed like an obvious choice.  It was snowing lightly as I set off walking from Pandy just before 9am, initially along the Offa's Dyke Path with good views of Ysgyryd Fawr ahead.

Ysgyryd Fawr from south of Pandy

After a couple of kilometres I left the Offa's Dyke Path and headed SSW along a minor road to Pen-y-parc.  Just beyond here I picked up a footpath up onto The Arwallt, which was exposed to the cold wind (and it felt even colder than yesterday!).

Ascending Ysgyryd Fawr

I followed a good path up the NE slopes of Ysgyryd Fawr, through intermittent snow patches to reach the summit ridge a couple of hundred metres south of the summit.  A short wander along the windswept ridge brought me to the summit rock of Ysgyryd Fawr (Marilyn) together with the nearby trigpoint; there were also a couple of stones, which mark the spot of the ancient St Michael's Chapel.

Summit of Ysgyryd Fawr

Summit trig point on Ysgyryd Fawr

There were good views from the summit, although they were somewhat limited by the greyness of the day.  After a quick break out of the wind I followed the ridge southwards for a little over a kilometre, passing quite a few people ascending the hill.

Looking south along the ridge of Ysgyryd Fawr

Upon reaching Caer Wood, I realised that if I walked quickly I could probably make the 12:42pm train which would get me home an hour earlier than I had originally planned.  Therefore I walked quickly down to the B4521 road, which I followed into Abergavenny.  Google Maps' walking directions were very useful in finding some shortcuts through residential streets and walkways on the eastern edge of town.  I arrived at the station just before 12:30pm, in plenty of time for my train, after an excellent few days of snowy walking.  I shall have to make arrangements to return to Pandy to complete the final couple of sections of the Offa's Dyke Path to Chepstow.

N.B. 03/06/13 - Post date updated to actual date of walk, i.e. 01/04/13 (from 15/04/13).  Trig point link also added.

An Easter Backpack: Knighton to Abergavenny

Well the weekend went pretty much as planned, other than a shorter day today, and I'm now on a train home. For much of the time I was walking through snow, which was quite deep in some places. The snow made for some long tiring days, the longest of which was 11 hours over the Black Mountains from Hay-on-Wye to Pandy, but it was an enjoyable trip nonetheless. Posts on the individual days will follow soon, but in the meantime here's a photo from yesterday afternoon when the sun was shining!


N.B. 03/06/13 - Dates of posts on individual days have now been updated to the actual dates of the walk

Offa's Dyke Path - Day 10: Hay-on-Wye to Pandy

Sunday 31st March 2013

A very long day in the Black Mountains, following the Offa's Dyke Path from Hay-on-Wye to Pandy

Distance: 27km; Ascent: 800m; Mainly sunny, but windy; Solo

See tracked route in new window

After another cooked breakfast I set off walking through Hay-on-Wye just before 9:30am in the sunshine :-)  Soon I left town and began walking across green fields - it made a pleasant change from the snow from the last couple of days!  However despite the sunshine it was clearly still below freezing as there were several large patches of ice in the low lying parts of the fields.  A little over a kilometre after leaving Hay, there was a short section of road walking before beginning to ascend up through the fields to the south, back into the snow.

Hay-on-Wye clock tower

Looking back NNW over Hay-on-Wye to the snowy hills beyond

Soon after passing Cadwgan farm there was a nice wintry section of woodland before I reached a pleasant area of open common land.  There were good views of Hay Bluff and Twmpa from up here, although even by now it was clear that I was going to have another day of bitterly cold easterly winds!  After around 30 minutes or so I reached the Gospel Pass road, which must have been ploughed clear due to the large banks of snow on either side!

Hay Bluff and Twmpa

Gospel Pass road

I followed the road southwards for around a kilometre, deliberately ignoring the Offa's Dyke Path turning to the left as I instead planned to visit the summit of Hay Bluff before picking up the Offa's Dyke Path again on the way to Black Mountain.  The north-west slopes of Hay Bluff were busy with walkers and people sledging, which resulted in the snow having become hard and compacted around here - I was glad I had my winter boots on!

Hay Bluff

Higher up I followed the obvious path traversing across the steep NW slopes of Hay Bluff, across a random mixture of almost rock hard snow and deep drifts of soft snow to reach the trigpoint on the summit of Hay Bluff, where it was very exposed to the bitter wind.

Looking SW towards Twmpa from Hay Bluff slopes

On Hay Bluff summit

I didn't linger here for long and headed SE across deep soft snow towards Black Mountain.  It was clear the the vast majority of other walkers I had seen on the way up Hay Bluff didn't venture very far from the summit as soon after I left the trigpoint there were no tracks through the snow to follow; this mean I had to break my own trail, which is quite tiring in deep snow!  However there were good views across the frozen ground towards the western peaks of the Black Mountains.

The western Black Mountains

On the summit of Black Mountain

After much hard work I eventually reached the almost featureless summit of Black Mountain (Marilyn, Nuttall), which is the highest point of the Offa's Dyke Path.  The summit might have had a small cairn on but it was hard to be certain through all the snow!  I stopped briefly nearby for a late lunch around 2pm.

From the top of Black Mountain the ground conditions started to improve with the beginnings of a few sets of footprints through the snow, which made things a little bit easier.  After 30 minutes or so I met a couple of other Offa's Dyke Path walkers coming the other direction who said that there was a well walked trail through the snow all the way to Pandy, which was most excellent news! 

Tombstone like waymarker on the Hatterrall Ridge

I walked over the summit of the south top of Black Mountain (Nuttall) before reaching a path junction shortly afterwards, which was marked with a tombstone like waymarker.  Around 30 minutes or so later I reached the trigpoint on Red Daren, after having walked over the plateau of Pen-y-Garn Fawr.

Trigpoint on Red Daren

Looking back along the ridge from Red Daren

There were good views in all directions from Red Daren, and there was quite a contrast as to my west lay lots of snow whereas to my east lay predominately green fields - although I could just about make out the snow covered Malvern Hills in the distance to the east.  Around an hour and a quarter later I reached the next trigpoint on Rhiw Arw.

Rhiw Arw trigpoint

The walking along this section of ridge was very pleasant, with were excellent views of my next objective, Hatterrall Hill, as well as down into the Vale of Ewyas.

Hatterrall Hill

Looking down into the Vale of Ewyas

The Offa's Dyke Path skirted my next hill but didn't quite visit its summit so I set off through the un-walked deep snow to reach the small cairn on the summit of Hatterrall Hill (Dewey).  A combination of the wind and the late afternoon sun made for some pretty patterns in the snow near the summit.

Cairn on the summit of Hatterrall Hill

Snow patterns on Hatterrall Hill

It was extremely hard going through deep snow covered heather as I returned to the Offa's Dyke Path, which was only a few hundred metres away!  There were good views south along the final section of the ridge and soon after 7pm I reached the final trigpoint of the day, located on the south ridge of Hatterrall Hill.

Looking south from Hatterrall Hill towards Ysgyryd Fawr

Trigpoint on south ridge of Hatterrall Hill

There were good views of the sunset from the trigpoint and after a further 40 minutes or so I reached my first road since leaving the Gospel Pass road at the northern edge of the ridge.  Given the lateness of the hour, I opted to follow the road to Pandy where I arrived at my lodgings for the night at the Park Hotel at 8:30pm.  After a quick change I headed for the Old Pandy Inn, where I arrived just before they stopped serving food at 9pm.  It had been a good days walking, although it was quite long at 11 hours!  So after pie, chips and a couple of pints of Wye Valley Ale I returned to my room for a well earned sleep!

N.B. 03/06/13 - Post date updated to actual date of walk, i.e. 31/03/13 (from 14/04/13).  Links to trig points visited on the walk have also been added.