July 27 & 28 -- Hay-on-Wye

Offa’s Mead in St. Briavels is truly a full-service B&B.  Not only did Jackie do our laundry (as she did last year) but Eric checked the air pressure in our rental car’s tires (tyres, in Britain) and added air where necessary.  He has a large workshop with all the equipment one needs to rebuild and maintain vehicles – his hobby.

You all know that I am widely recognized for my driving prowess, and I can honestly state with all humility that I may well be the best driver in the world.  Unfortunately, all my recent driving practice may have shortchanged my parking techniques.  While parking in St. Briavels, I inadvertently jumped the left front tire onto the curb (or in England, the kerb).  Realizing my mistake, my lightning fast reactions quickly brought the tire back onto the road, although perhaps too quickly.   Dismounting the curb, the tire’s sidewall was gouged.

Medieval Gate at Monmouth

The tire was probably perfectly safe, but the unsightly gouge may have caused people to underestimate my driving abilities, so I arranged to have the tire replaced.  The replacement took 15 minutes.  Getting the car rental company to authorize the replacement took another 2 hours.  While at first blush that may seem an inconvenience, the extra time gave Janet and me plenty of time to stroll around Monmouth, replenish our supplies, and have a small snack.

Hay Bookstore

Continuing on, we followed a series of roads generally paralleling the Offa’s Dyke Path, arriving at Hay-on-Wye mid-afternoon.  Hay (as the locals refer to it) is the used book capital of the world.  After browsing the bookstores, Janet and I retired to a lovely garden for après drive refreshments and dinner.

At breakfast on Saturday, I spoke with the innkeeper about several possible walks.  His recommended walk was about 8 miles – following the Offa’s Dyke Path to the small village of Rhydspence (really no more than a crossroads), then a short walk to the Whitney Toll Bridge, and a return by the Wye Valley Walk.  8 miles on flat terrain.  Apparently that was before the movement of the earth’s tectonic plates stretched the earth’s crust.  After the crust stretching, the distance became 14½ miles.  Fortunately the stretching of the earth’s crust had flattened the terrain, otherwise we would have had much more than our 1400 feet elevation gain.

Walking through the Wheat

Janet didn’t complain, though – partly because the route had so much variety, partly because the 1400 feet of elevation gain kept her out of breath, and partly because I kept reminding her that it was only 8 miles – even as the GPS ticked away the actual mileage.  The walk started out along the Wye River, then ascended into a dark forest, then across cow pastures, hay fields, sheep pastures and finally through a golf course. 

Through the Golf Course

Yes the path actually ran between the fairways, so Janet was too occupied by errant golf balls to notice the accumulating mileage.  Neither of us had ever walked through a golf course before, and it was fun to know that our right of way had precedence over their game.

Upon arrival in Hay, I noticed that the footpath passed right next to a pub.  Coincidence?  Perhaps, but we had to check it out to make sure.

(c) 2012 Ken Klug