Gladestry to Hay on What? The Wye of course! Second blog today.

Nice steaks on the barbie last night cooked by my sister. We can argue quite well. Harsh arguments, by email, text or even face to face; using naughty words. But on these last two walks where she’s helped me out setting up camp, transferring kit and cooking nice scran we’ve not argued. I know how to wind her up but I’ve only been playful on this trip and she’s not blown up. Must be getting old. Well, obviously we aren’t getting young. Nobody is, but it’s good to spend some time together. 

She gen me a lift to Gladestry, after making ham sandwiches for breakfast. She also gen me a spare sandwich wrapped up.  Up the hill and a final look back at Hergest Ridge. Again in the sun. But I am too much in the sun, since I banged my head. Particularly when I passed the hamlet of Newchurch.

Sorry. I can’t stop looking back at Hergest from different perspectives. It’s got something that Mike Oldfield recognised. You can feel it walking on the top. 

Anyway, onward and upward and downward and upward. I dropped down over rolling fields to the hamlet of Newchurch. 

And I took a wrong turning along a country lane instead of cutting south over a hill. By the time I realised, I was just too far to turn back. Two cars passed me. One offered a lift and the other asked for directions. Interactive traffic! Not a busy route. Nice views though.

I sat at the roadside and ate my packed lunch! I got a signal on my iPad and mapped out my route to Hay on Wat. What! Who cares? In the sun, free as a bird and strolling the merry way and jumping the hedges first. So I drank the clear clean water for to quench my thirst. Sweet thing, sweet, sweet thing. A sugarbaby floated by. With champagne eyes. How good was Van the Man! No question mark needed. And I caught sight of Hay on Wat. 

Only 11 miles today. Should have been 10 but got lost. Well, maldirected, not lost as such. Per se. No no no. Not lost my precious! 

The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films was really good. It didn’t follow the book religiously, thank God! Boom boom. But it was true to the spirit of each character and the story. Gollum was down to a tee. They all were.

I crossed the River Wat by Hay and looked down from the bridge. An old dear and a ratty little dog were playing on the bankside. It were Debs! She came up to take me to another new campsite. The river – Wye really, but Wat is fun – is lovely.

We drove over the Black Mountains to Pandy, found the campsite and pitched up. Another Indian takeaway, another pleasant evening and looking forward to a great night’s sleep. 

Night night.