Utopia

Today I found the perfect village. It is the only book village in the world. But to get there I had to walk 25.5km and climb 680m!

Despite those numbers this was probably the nicest day so far. I had to adjust my negative impression of Kington as when we climbed out of the town we passed beautiful old homes and gracious gardens under ancient trees. The climb was long but civilized.

Today we were up high again walking along the Marches - border area. I’ve come to enjoy these heather and gorse covered hills. The views are amazing as is the bird life. A new one today - the Eurasian Bullfinch. A gorgeous orange, black and white little chap.

The land we were on was mostly owned by one family - the Banks. Apparently descended from the botanist Joseph Banks. We commoners are allowed access to it thanks to one of the wonderful ancient British laws that seem to last forever. For some reason the Banks planted a grove of Monkey Puzzle trees at the highest point of the land. I wonder what Chilean native trees are making of Welsh temperatures. Fewer sheep so less poo so winning…

A good walk for me involves plenty of contrast. We got that with several cute villages, some nice forest and the beautiful River Wye. One village church had a table set up inside with free tea and biscuits- even milk in the fridge.

The surfaces were softer today and for once we ended the day on flat land following the river valley so my feet are happier. Grant is suffering a bit but hopefully that will pass.

So far I’m blister free thanks to a regime of Vaseline, toe socks, second socks and padding with sheep’s wool (foot fleece). The game changer we have learned however is constantly adjusting the lacing on our shoes. It’s amazing how much your feet and shoes change through the day and if you don’t keep adjusting, your feet start moving and that’s usually where the blisters appear. Hope it lasts! We have never done such a tough walk before and the days coming up don’t look any easier. We start tomorrow with a 650m climb! God help me.

The utopian town in question is Hay on Wye. In addition to being the world’s only book town it holds a famous annual writers festival which I hope some of you will accompany me to one day.

By the time we arrived and went through the post walk rigmarole and rest, the shops were shut - but I can’t fit anything in my luggage so that’s a good thing. I did a wander around - or hobble around- and counted 15 book stores! Many are specialists in genres and several are second hand vendors. I’m sure there are more. Fabulous.

The town’s population is under 2000 souls but it’s clearly a dynamic and creative community and next time you are in these parts add it to your list if you haven’t been.

Dinner in a nice pub down the road - The Blue Boar- as our hotel was a bit dull. While we were there a bunch of people arrived all sweaty and sporty. They were aged from forty to seventy and are RUNNING from one end of the UK to the other in 30 days. …pass me the chips ….Read more