Day 41 Llangattock to Llanthony

I slept well at the Hunters Moon. Apparently the bar had been very noisy, with lots of singing. Didn’t hear a thing. I had breakfast with Karen and Paul who had camped in the pub garden and were planning on reaching Hay on Wye today. It was a plan that involved a taxi as Hay is about twenty miles away. I was only going to Llanthony where there is another ruined abbey in order to break the trip to Hay into two days.

I walked over the hills to Pandy always aware of the looming bulk of Hatterall Hill ahead that I would have to climb later.

At one point I sprinted to catch up with a group of four walkers (safety in numbers) as we were in a field of cows and I had already had to speak firmly to a herd of not so young bullocks who followed me in a previous field. I took the Offa’s Dyke path down (what? I’m climbing a 600m hill) then up only to find those same people (I had left them admiring the view) were now way ahead of me.

It was rather blustery at the top of the hill which runs for about nine miles with Offa’s Dyke Path along the top. My plan was to take a path down to the west to reach Llanthony and climb back up again in the morning. The views were great, if a bit hazy and I saw several ponies and my first red kite since leaving home.

I made good time along the top, overtaking the short-cutters. I found a sheltered dip to have my lunch in, then met Sukey and Martin who are walking LEJOG as well. I am the first person they met who is also doing it. They too have a YouTube channel but I must have written it down wrongly as I can’t find it on YouTube. They have had a lot of problems finding accommodation so had to alter their route accordingly.

Almost immediately after that I took the path down from the ridge to Llanthony.

It was a nice change walking downhill and the walk overall was shorter than I thought, only 9 miles. It felt like an easy day. So easy that I arrived by 2.30, rested, then went to look (yes, walked more than I needed to) at Llanthony Priory

The Priory wasn’t as impressive as Tintern but there were a lot of standing ruins, and some bits that look like they won’t be standing much longer. There is also a hotel there , yes, in the Priory itself.

I wasn’t staying there. I was at the Half Moon pub. There was no phone signal, no WiFi, not even a TV or radio. So I couldn’t write up the blog, which means that if there is a day when nothing appears, it is only a signal problem. I met Damian again, he was having a relative rest day (which was probably about the length of one of my ordinary days) and walking with a friend, Angela, whom he had met whilst walking the Jordan Trail. Which, it has to be said, sounds very hardcore. And that was my day. I read my book all evening and went to bed surprisingly late.