Day 11 - Ammanford to Llanelli, 20.5 miles.

Total ascent, 391m (1283ft).

Friday, 2nd August.

Total distance over 11 days = 195.9 miles.

Total ascent over 11 days = 7496m (24,593ft)

I was expecting a hot finale rather than a grand one, and today didn't disappoint. Neither did the fajitas at The Cottage Inn last night, my room at the lovely Pont-y-Clerc Farm B&B, nor this morning's breakfast of porridge with homemade honey. The forecast was for hot and clear weather, much closer to the dreaded Day One temperatures than yesterday's. But this time I was ready; fitter, used to carrying the rucksack and carrying 4 litres of water. 

The last 5 miles were brutal though. 

My predictions for today's walk were:

Miles 1 to 8 - fun.

Miles 9 to 14 - not fun.

Miles 15 to 20 - a little bit fun and a little bit not fun (in 'Year 4 language').

The reality was:

Mile 1 - not fun.

Mile 1 again - not fun.

Miles 2 to 8 - fun.

Miles 9 to 11 - not fun.

Miles 12 to 14 - better than the not fun I expected.

Mile 15 - fun.

Miles 16 to 20 - the aforementioned 'BRUTAL'.

A little more detail is required, I think.

Mile 1 involved me finding a sneaky path from my B&B to the Heart of Wales Trail, getting stuck in brambles again and turning back, finding a second sneaky path and having to turn back again, finding a third sneaky path which ended deep in a wood at a tarpaulin shelter with voices inside (so I ran away) and finally returning to sneaky path 1 (outside the gate of the B&B!), putting my waterproofs on despite the heat and attacking the brambles. This end part was 'Mile 1 again', after which I stopped at Pantyffynnon station (very nice), removed my waterproofs, recomposed myself and rejoined the HoWLT. A terrible start.

Pantyffynnon Station. Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda just out of shot. 

The next 7 miles were superb, up and along a long ridge before descending into Pontarddulais where a lifesaving coffee shop was waiting (note how I skim over the good bits!). I ordered a flat white and carrot cake, and when the lady brought it over she made a comment and I said it. I had no intention of saying it, it just came out. She said, "It looks quite hot outside." I replied with, "It is. I could do with a bit more breeze, truth be told." I was going to apologise, but just looked down instead. If I say, "What's occurring?" between now and tomorrow morning I may have to remain here forever.

The last descent.

Miles 9 to 11 looked grim on the map and they were on the ground, through ceaseless baking fields of various crops, the only respite being the path underneath the M4 where I hid with a flock of sheep who were too tired to even bother running away. I was on the main HoWLT for this stretch rather than an alternative in the book because the tide was out, and by far the best part was the tidal section, walking over grass that had been underwater just a few hours earlier. Actually I'd mis-calibrated my altimeter by about 10 metres this morning, which meant that for almost all of the last 12 miles it told me I was beneath sea level, which was slightly unnerving. 

Is the M4 really behind that hedge?

Pool at the tidal bit, with railway bridge behind (and M4 beyond that).

Miles 12 to 14 were better as there were tracks to follow rather than having to plough my own furrow, and Mile 15 was fun because I finally reached the coast, crossed the Llwchwr Estuary on the A484 road bridge and set off towards Llanelli on the Wales Coast Path, with great views across to the Gower Peninsula.

Then a sea wall appeared on my left. It was about a metre above my head and ensured that I saw nothing at all of the coast for the next 3 miles. When it wasn't there it was replaced by the 8 foot, barbed wire topped, ELECTRIC boundary fence of the much celebrated National Wetlands Centre. I mean, how many people are really going to break into the National Wetlands Centre? And if they did would it actually matter?

DO NOT ENTER THE WETLAND AREA OR YOU WILL DIE.

So with either a sea wall or a scary ELECTRIC fence on my left, what was on the right? Well firstly we had an enormous caravan site, then 8 foot trees to mirror the fence, then a golf course. It was only at the end of the golf course that the sea wall finally vanished, the views returned and I waited for the breeze. There was no breeze. 

Which left 2 more oven-baked miles to the finish. At this point I recalled that the guide book lists this section as the busiest of the entire route. Not today it wasn't; I was one of the few idiots out and about on this tarmac sun trap of a cycle path. The temperature remained over 30°C for the entire last hour and a quarter.

So I walked straight past my (again lovely) B&B, Queen Victoria Rooms, to find coffee and cake, got cleaned up and I'm now in the middle of Llanelli (I think, if it's got a middle) eating Italian pizza and tiramisu (not together) and drinking Spanish San Miguel. It's just too hot for British beer and food!

Finally, I still haven't officially finished even though I've walked beyond Llanelli Station. I'll be there to celebrate and catch my train in the morning and the payoff is that I'll be heading back to Shrewsbury on the Heart of Wales Line, clocking every station that I've visited along the way. It's been a fabulous walk in bizarre weather, and despite today's ending for next year I think I can feel a coastal walk coming on.

Towel elephant!

Day 10 - Llandeilo to Ammanford, 16.5 miles.

Total ascent, 600m (1969ft).

Thursday, 1st August.

My meal last night wasn't great. I ordered the oriental duck which came in a jellied sweet and sour sauce and was served with new potatoes, onion rings, peas and lettuce. Not particularly oriental then, so it's a good job I'll eat pretty much anything after a walk. My breakfast this morning wasn't great either. Scrambled eggs on toast seems pretty foolproof to me, but they had other plans. At least the beer was good and the room was fine.

I'd walked half a mile today before my first coffee stop at a cafe / bakery in Llandeilo. I think the reason why I find Llandeilo underwhelming is because it's got a busy 'A' road running right through it, and the town is strung out along that. It's actually got some decent shops and cafes, of which this was one. After drinking a flat white and buying lunch I was ready for an ascent. 

The temperature had been cranked up a few degrees today and it was sunny most of the time, so it wasn't really a day for fighting through spiky undergrowth, which is what I spent a good chunk of the day doing. I must stress that only one such stretch was on the Heart of Wales Line Trail itself; another was when I decided I liked the look of a short detour through a wood that might give some cooling shade (it didn't) and the third was when I got lost.

Cool looking, but sadly non-cooling.

Now I know this completely contradicts what I said about how easy navigation is when you only have to follow a red line on the map, but it only works when you don't ignore the red line and follow a different path entirely. This of course could have been easily rectified. I had only followed the wrong path for two fields, about 5 minutes. However in time honoured fashion I decided it would be far more interesting to find another, ultimately far longer, route with brambles at every turn.

The path. 

The reason for my dilly dally approach to today was that it was only 13 miles, and therefore I could afford to drink coffee and make dreadful detours which eventually extended it to 16.5 miles! To be honest it was all good fun and I still had plenty of time to visit Carreg Cennen Castle tearoom (I didn't go up to the castle, Jen and I had been fairly recently) for coffee and cake, along with two more stations. 

Carreg Cennen Castle.

I've been to all of the towns on the route at some point in the past, but south of Llandeilo I was not familiar with. I assumed that I would be entering suburban Swansea territory and that the scenery would become more urban, but that hasn't happened yet. Llandybie had a good try though. When I left the Brecon Beacons National Park today I had a long descent on a lane, which became a road on the outskirts of Llandybie with enormous houses on either side. And every one of them was horrible. It was as if people had been sold a plot of land to build a house on, on the condition that when it was finished nobody else in their right minds would want to live in it.

The centre of Llandybie never really materialised, though I did find the station which wasn't on a par with others I'd seen (though Llandeilo's wasn't either), so I set off on the last 4 miles to Ammanford. Now I must confess that in my head Ammanford was going to be a dump, and it isn't. It's a much bigger town than I've been to for a long time, but it's quite attractive and the locals are very friendly. And the station is much nicer than the previous two.

As I wait for my food to arrive in The Cottage Inn there is a sign on the wall. It says, "If ¾ of your gin and tonic is tonic, then mix with the best - Fever Tree." I do indeed mix with Fever Tree, but I can guarantee that ¾ of my gin and tonic is NEVER tonic.

“Do you feel lucky, punk?”

Day 9 - Llandovery to Llandeilo, 19 miles.

Total ascent, 607m (1991ft).

Wednesday, 31st July.

I've always really liked Llandovery and have no Llanwrtyd Wells type bad memories of it. I'd booked into the strangely named 'The Bear With Rooms' in the very centre of town, and it turned out to be another fascinating place to stay. The owner (of Polish origin) had been there for 20 years and for most of that time it was a pub, just called 'The Bear'. He'd got fed up with locals fighting so had reinvented it as a coffee shop / wine bar / restaurant, and it was lovely (though the story has a downbeat ending as he is selling up). There were tiny rooms and alcoves with comfy chairs all over the place, and most importantly I was able to drink quality coffee with cake, then later beer with a meal, without the slightest inclination to go anywhere else on a wet Llandovery evening.

I need to belatedly mention that this is my first long distance walk without paper maps. I am paper free! Late last year I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Tab Active2, a tablet designed for use in industry (judging from the promo pictures). It's waterproof and shock proof up to 1.2 metres, which might be dependent upon what it lands on if I do drop it! It lives in a pouch attached to my rucksack belt and was an absolute godsend in the rain yesterday, as I needed to check the route regularly and therefore keep the tablet handy. I have a subscription with the Ordnance Survey (the best £25 I spend each year) which allows me to download maps of the UK at 1:25,000 scale and plot my route on it. The tablet GPS then shows me as a little red arrow and I just follow the route; a little red line. Navigation has never been so easy!

I had another long day, today. I may have to rethink my day lengths in future as each year I seem to plan more and more long days. I suspect that my increasing age and copious coffee requirements will need to be prioritised in future. I might attempt to put a cap of 15 or 16 miles per day on long distance walks from now on, unless more can't be avoided.

I've had a few niggles during the course of the walk, my back on day one being the worst, but my right ankle was quite swollen when I went to bed last night. It was annoying me a bit on day two, so since then I've had my boot a bit looser and it's been fine, until now. It had felt like a bruise on my ankle bone but now it was obvious that I'd aggravated it into a small sprain. I decided to put a compression tube bandage thingy on it and slightly alter the first part of today's walk to Llangadog. I stuck to lanes as close to the main route as I could so I could monitor it. All seemed fine when I got there so I moved onto the main route from then on. I suspect though it's not the sort of thing that'll get better by walking 15+ miles every day, so I'll probably need the bandage for the remaining two days.

There was no breakfast at 'The Bear With Rooms' so I was out by 8 looking for food. I came across a bakery first so got lunch sorted, a mighty fine cheese and tomato seeded baguette. I then had two odd conversations in the space of five minutes; the first with the girl behind the bakery counter...

Me: Is there a cafe around here where I can get some breakfast?

Girl: Yes, there's a lovely one in the craft centre but it's closed on Wednesdays.

Me: Hmmm, it is Wednesday. Are there any others?

Girl: Yes, there's one called the printing house across the square that opens at 9.

Me: Hmmm, it's only 10 past 8. Are there any others?

Girl: Yes, there's one just round the corner on the left. It'll be open now.

Me: Thank you.

I walked round the corner and ordered a 'Little Breakfast' from the man behind the counter, with one small alteration...

Me: Can I have the Little Breakfast please, but with no beans?

Man: No beans? How about tomatoes then?

Me: No thanks, just leave off the beans.

Man: I'll do you an extra egg then.

Me: No really, two eggs are enough thanks.

Man (whilst writing in capital letters): NO BEANS, EXTRA EGG.

It was a great, no nonsense 'Little Breakfast' though. I've had quite a few nonsense breakfasts on this trip and this wasn't one of them. Normal bacon, normal sausages, three normal non-free range eggs and normal mighty white toast. The coffee was sadly too normal for it's own good but never mind. And I can't even begin to imagine how big the normal breakfast was.

Two blogs on one post.

The weather was back to its superb self after yesterday's aberration, with sunny intervals throughout the day. After the lane walk to Llangadog I joined the end of the Beacons Way, which I did in 2012, for a few miles but in the opposite direction. It now appears to finish at Llangadog Station, whereas when I did it it finished in the God forsaken village of Bethlehem (!), as ugly as its namesake in Israel but a lot smaller. This was my third walking visit to 'God Forsaken Bethlehem', and unless I repeat one of my previous walks I should be able to avoid coming here again.

Bethlehem. Jesus got lucky with the other one.

After GFB the path climbed up to the impressive Iron Age hill fort of Carn Goch. To be honest it's the setting that's most impressive as the fort is now a jumble of rocks, and the views were the best of the last two days (though yesterday's lack of views was weather related). It was an excellent spot for a mighty fine cheese and tomato seeded baguette.

View from a mighty fine cheese and tomato seeded baguette.

The path continued to climb. To my left were the outlying lumps of the Black Mountain and to my right was the Tywi river (and rail) valley with much lower hills beyond. I had a sense of the landscape starting to shrink as it neared the sea. And now it was a long descent into Llandeilo, a town that can only be described as underwhelming, especially when compared to Llandovery. But at least it was sunny.

I'm staying at the White Hart, which I have stayed in before. In fact it's the only place I've stayed in twice over the course of many years of long distance walks in Wales (apart from the Ship in Aberdaron obvs). It's ok. My favourite line from the landlord was, "Breakfast is between 7 and 9 and the wifi is what it is." So far what it is is 'struggling'!

This is what a path between hedgerows should look like.

Day 8 - Llanwrtyd Wells to Llandovery, 17.4 miles.

Total ascent, 687m (2254ft).

Tuesday, 30th July.

I once played a gig in Llanwrtyd Wells, many years ago, though I have no idea which pub it was in. I had to drive home after we finished, finally getting home at 2 in the morning, and I got paid less than the fuel cost to get there and back. Over the years I think this has clouded my judgement of the place, as I pictured a long straight road with slate grey terraced streets heading off it and the most miserable people the world had ever known. I suspect these negative images were created by someone in a bad mood. 

Llanwrtyd was in fact one of the prettiest towns so far, and we'd had a fabulous meal last night (a homemade tagine each and crumble to follow) in a big, old, not fabulous pub. I was sad to leave for 3 reasons. One: the B&B, Ardwyn House, was fantastic (thank you Katie and Roger) and the bed was the comfiest of the trip by a mile. Two: Jen was heading home, though this shouldn't really count because if I'd stayed there I'd have been on my own anyway. Three: it was pissing down.

I'm unlikely to get much sympathy about the weather seeing as I'd had no rain for an entire week, but I'll moan about it regardless. This morning I had every possible type of rain in existence - pissing down, pouring down, cats and dogs, drizzle (briefly as respite), chucking it down, heavy, very heavy, torrential and, for the most part, hammering it down. 

I walked up a hillside in the rain and down it again further along. I crossed the A483 and a level crossing in the rain, looking defiantly at motorists who were probably openly mocking me. I walked up another, much higher hillside in the rain. I entered a wood in the rain, but everything was sodden and dripping so it made no difference. I slithered along a forest path in the rain, dodging newborn lakes. I descended a steep zigzag path in the rain and re-crossed the A483, looking pathetically at motorists who were probably about to call an ambulance.

Having said all that the paths were excellent throughout (apart from the lakes), so why at this point I felt like taking a short detour I've no idea. The main route headed northwards before looping round to the west, but I'd spotted a more direct route, though it looked like it was on much less distinct paths. And so it proved, as in fact the paths were so much less distinct that they didn't exist, and I now had some accompaniment to the rain in the form of head high bracken (again), barbed wire fences (again) and a scramble. I usually love scrambling, but not as a rule up mud banks. The day, however, was about to provide a glorious interlude. Not in the weather, though in this case the rain actually stopping for a while was pretty glorious, but in the Cynghordy Viaduct.

Viaduct(!) and gravestones.

Viaduct!

I love viaducts, and as I now love railways too I couldn't have been happier to see it. I'd known it was on today's route but it still took my breath away (as the Ribblehead Viaduct always does). I spent quite a long time wandering around at its base, then walked beyond it to get a view of the whole span. It then dawned on me to check the time, it was 12:35, and the time the next train was due, it was at the last station at 12:37. I couldn't believe my luck, as long as it was on time. I also couldn't believe how much I've got into the whole railway aspect of the walk, and the funny noise I made when I heard it tooting! 

Viaduct and train! I repeat, viaduct and train!!!

The train actually looked tiny as it crossed the viaduct but it made a huge impact on the day. This was helped by a change for the better in the weather, and the afternoon was no worse than cloudy with some drizzly bits. I stopped for lunch at Cynghordy Station nearby, knowing that it would have a shelter (the seats had cushions on them!) and a nice, well maintained plant display to look at despite being miles from anywhere.

I'd considered getting new boots before this walk, but wouldn't have had time to give them enough of a run out so decided to wait. After four years, and therefore well over 1000 miles of use, the tread was starting to wear thin. But until today they'd never leaked, and once the water had found a way in I was sloshing around in them in no time. This was not good at all, and the logical next step was to get blisters. So I spent quite a long time in the station shelter wringing out socks, and hoping that everything will dry out tonight.

The walk was easy from then on, either on good paths or lanes (now with added views!), and aside from a set to with a farm dog (not my first and it won't be my last) it was uneventful. Because I'd had my head down for long parts of the morning I was in Llandovery by 4pm and sticking a hairdryer inside my boots by 4:30. 

I knew the wall mounted TV would come in handy.

Boots drying nicely. 

Day 7 - Builth Wells to Llanwrtyd Wells, 14.6 miles.

Total ascent, 673m (2208ft).

Monday, 29th July.

Happy Anniversary Jen! x

The scenario at the start of the day was that I had a big rucksack and Jen had no rucksack. We were going to walk 14ish miles to Llanwrtyd Wells and tomorrow morning Jen was going to get the bus back to Builth and drive home. But Jen had no rucksack. This would mean me carrying all my stuff plus Jen's stuff, which in itself doesn't sound that problematic, but the thing that weighs the most is water. It's really, really, really heavy. So Plan B came into operation.

I've built this up a bit but it was a pretty obvious alternative. We do the walk, get the bus back to Builth, pick the car up and drive to Llanwrtyd. This still meant that I was carrying everything but I could leave my overnight stuff in the car. It did strike me later that Jen might have done the whole thing deliberately to slow me down, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

Jen and bracken. 

After a hearty continental breakfast at Caer Beris we drove into town and set off on what was a fantastic morning's walking. The path was easy with superb views throughout, a morning of sheep and bracken. After a spell on the edge of the Sennybridge military area (you wouldn't have known) we stopped at a superb viewpoint for lunch. Things got tougher after that as we descended into the valley and the temperature rose. I'd said to Jen part way through the morning that today's weather was the best of the walk so far, but by the afternoon I'd changed my mind.

Jen leading yet again (this doesn’t usually happen, but she usually has a rucksack!).

A highlight of the day was Llangammarch Wells Station (I'm pretty much completely hooked on these request stations now!), which was so well looked after, despite I suspect very few people ever getting on or off there. Llanwrtyd Wells Station at the end of the day was similarly impressive. 

Me at Llangammarch Wells Station.

So tomorrow morning it's goodbye to Jen (till Saturday anyway), and after an entire week of good or better or too much better weather, with no rain, it looks like it might be about to end in dramatic fashion!

Day 6 - Llandrindod Wells to Builth Wells, 13.2 miles.

Total ascent, 642m (2106ft).

Sunday, 28th July.

I had a good night out in Llandrindod. A pint in Arvon Alehouse followed by a curry in Zeera (I abandoned Fabian's Kitchen for something more 'no nonsense') followed by more beer in Arvon. And Greylands Guest House was by far the best place I've stayed at in Llandrindod Wells, even though every square inch was filled with an ornament of some sort. 

The couple who owned it were from the south east and were big on the home produce, which made breakfast into quite an event. There were homemade juices, fruit salads and compotes galore, so I had very little room for the traditional breakfast things when they arrived. I decided to follow my mother's example and hide the bacon I couldn't eat in my pocket wrapped in a serviette. Why I couldn't just leave it I've no idea! I shared the breakfast room with a friendly man with a superb Welsh-themed prosthetic leg, a seriously unhealthy sweating hippie and a lad with a stinking hangover who left before his cooked breakfast arrived. What a motley crew we were! 

I left in high spirits and had yet another good look at Llandrindod, concluding as I walked through town that the reason it seems so run down is that it had the furthest to fall from its lofty position, and sadly it just can't afford to maintain its fabulous architecture. Towns such as Knighton were never prestigious places and still aren't, so they look just fine.

I was shunning the HoWLT again today (for the second and final time) to explore the hills south east of the railway line, as I didn't feel the need to visit Newbridge Station which kept the official route at a lower altitude. Whereas I couldn't wholeheartedly recommend yesterday's route as an alternative to the main trail, today's was superb from start to finish (apart from a 20 minute episode, of which more later). Also superb was the weather, the best for walking of the trail so far; 50% cloud, 50% sun and the perfect temperature.

I left Llandrindod via the lakeside path, already busy with women pushing children in buggies, then ascended a lane past the golf course, already busy with men pulling golf clubs in buggies. The demographic was strangely predictable, as it had been last night in the 'Gaming Hub' next to the alehouse. It sold board and electronic games but also appeared to be somewhere you could eat, drink and play online to your heart's content, and it was full of fathers and sons. And it was still going strong at 10:30pm.

Looking south from Gilwern Hill.

My route took me to Gilwern Hill, the beautiful Castle Bank, east of Carneddau and down to Builth Wells; all joyful experiences aside from the aforementioned 20 minutes. I approached a house called Cwm-berwyn down a long track, and from the in the garden it was obvious that an event was about to happen or had happened. I could tell from the map that a good path went left of the house and a poor one went to the right, so I aimed left. I could hear children and adults playing and shouting but had no idea how to get to where they were. 

I gave up and stood in front of the house pondering, at which point a young woman came out of the front door. After saying hello I said something like, "Sounds like you're all having fun!" to which she replied, "Yes, it was my father's funeral yesterday." I had absolutely no idea how to respond to this, so I just said how sorry I was and stood there trying my best to disappear into thin air. At this point I'm convinced that every negative emotion she'd been feeling came out in one decisive, vindictive direction. "Go to the right of the house and follow the stream until the paths meet."

I didn't want to go right, I wanted to go left where the happy, shouty, smiley people were, but I dared not contest her decision. I went right, through the nettles, up the steep slope, through the head high bracken, beneath the waist high tree branches, down the steep slope, across the stream, over the barbed wire fence and joined the wide, clear track coming in from the left. I hope she feels better now.

I had a coffee in Builth then headed to Caer Beris Manor, just west of town, to meet Jen. She's forgotten to bring a rucksack for tomorrow's walk but has everything that needs to go in it. This of course is my fault because I didn't tell her to bring one. Thankfully I have a plan.

Builth Wells.

The Royal Welsh Show was in Builth Wells last week so it's dead as a dodo now. We walked back into town for a very average meal in one of the few places that could be bothered cooking anything. 

Caer Beris Manor.

Finally an aside from Greylands Guest House that I'm still laughing at now. As the landlord was showing me to my room I noticed a print of 'The Accolade' by Edmund Leighton on the staircase wall. I pointed at it and asked him which of them was interested in the Pre-Raphaelites. After a few seconds, during which he'd obviously only registered the 'lites' part of the question, he gestured towards the wall light next to the painting and said, "We got them from IKEA.”

Pre-Raphaelites and IKEA lights. 

Day 5 - Llangynllo to Llandrindod Wells, 20.6 miles.

Total ascent, 1018m (3340ft).

Saturday, 27th July.

My meal at Little Hencefn was lovely, but it still feels a bit odd to me being the only guest at a B&B run by a couple. It was Friday night! Surely they really wanted to get hammered and not serve a smelly walker. I kindly decided to get out of their way and go to the pub.

My memory of the Greyhound Inn at Llangynllo (from when I did Glyndwr's Way 9 years ago) was that it looked derelict but wasn't, it was a building site inside, it only had bottled beer and the jukebox was free and leaned towards heavy rock. Very little had changed. It wasn't a building site but the jukebox was there - still free and still HEAVY!!! 

I'd spent a good half hour sitting in the corner cynically contemplating the pub's doomed future when I began to realise that the atmosphere was far better than anywhere I'd been so far. I had a chat with the couple who owned it and they laughed about the 'building site' visit. What they'd done was not a refurb, but they'd cleaned it up into its original state. 

There was a scouse couple at the bar; they had accommodation booked in the area but couldn't find it so they were getting pissed instead, and none of the locals could pinpoint where they were supposed to be staying. I was given a pot of free mixed nuts and served beer at my table. The scouse couple bought everyone in the pub a drink (about a dozen of us). The gents toilet was outside with the urinal in full view of the houses next door. They didn't have wifi, didn't take credit cards and didn't serve food. They probably are doomed, and it's a real shame because the evening was a hoot.

The Greyhound. It almost looks like a pub at night. ROUND THE BACK!

The landlady at the B&B had said that they didn’t do packed lunches, then said she could do me a cheese and tomato sandwich, then presented me this morning with what looked like two complete packed lunches. Two individually wrapped sandwiches, two biscuits and two pieces of fruit. After checking that there weren’t two of me I gratefully accepted and promptly split them into today’s lunch and tomorrow’s lunch. Today's was delicious btw.

On paper this looked like the toughest day of the walk, and it would have been if it weren’t for the weather on day one. I’d planned my own route (so I only had myself to blame!) so that I could walk over Radnor Forest (it’s a 660m mountain, with a forest on part of it obvs), an area that I didn’t know at all.

In a nutshell the route was Llangynllo, Bleddfa, Radnor Forest, (just south of) Llandegley, Llandegley Rocks, Some Other Hills, Llandrindod Wells. The descent to Bleddfa was a pain as the path on the map was nowhere to be seen. The ascent of Radnor Forest was a pain because, well, coniferous forests are. Everything else was great fun. The moorland on top of Radnor Forest (the part with no trees on obvs) was as moory as a moor could be. Llandegley Rocks were strangely exciting and gave me a few scrambling opportunities. Some Other Hills went pleasantly up, down, up, down, up, down, then less pleasantly up, down, up, down, up, down so I went round the last few.

The mooriest of moors. Radnor Forest (not the part with the trees obvs).

Radnor Forest (note trees on skyline!) from Llandegley Rocks.

And still no rain. It was clearly raining further to the west but not where I was. Today was a no rain, no sun, grey sky day. Also the average temperature was 17°C, which was pathetic compared with what I’ve come to expect.

I’m never sure whether I like Llandrindod Wells or not, and considering the number of times I’ve been here I really should have made up my mind by now. It reminds me of Llandudno without the sea, which makes sense as they were both popular Victorian resorts (Llandrindod is a spa town), but like Llandudno it seems a bit run down. It does though have a good restaurant called Fabian's Kitchen that Jen and I went to a couple of years ago. If it's still there and not full I might give it a whirl. Talking of Jen, she's meeting me in Builth Wells tomorrow evening to do a day's walk with me and check my sanity levels.

Finally today though I need to have a moan about bilingualism gone mad. It now seems that every single sign in Wales needs to be bilingual, to the extent that places that I've always known in Welsh now have English names I'm sure they never used to have, and vice versa. An example of the latter that always gets me is approaching Welshpool, where you get the option of visiting Welshpool / Y Trallwng, Oswestry / Croesoswallt or Shrewsbury / Amwythig. If there's a job going somewhere to invent translated names that didn't previously exist I'd love it. I was reminded of this yesterday in Llangynllo which, when translated into English is Llangunllo. This strikes me not as a translation at all, but an attempt to show English people how you are supposed to pronounce it in Welsh. Though saying 'll', both of them, is another skill entirely!

Now what?!