"Up The Dyke" Day 5 - July 17th 2002
Hay-on-Wye to Kington "Tubular Fells"
Day Date Start Finish Approx. Miles Hours Accommodation
4 Wed. 17th July Hay-on-Wye Kington 15 Alan and Kath Williams, Tan House, Tanyard Lane, Bridge Street, Kington, Tel. 01544 230020 e-mail Kath@Alkath.fsnet.co.uk

Click on any picture to go to a larger version or Click Here! to go to the full set of Offa's Dyke photographs for this day.

Day 5 StartAgain a completely useless prize is offered if you can tell me why today's walk is called Tubular Fells. Just mail me!

We had an excellent breakfast (the best of the trip so far) at Bob and Annette Crook's La Fosse Guest House and I was all ready to leave at 09:00 when a passer by told Noelene that the car had a puncture! Fortunately, there was a tyre repair place opposite and so, £12 lighter but all fixed, I was able to start on the 15 miles to Kington at about 09:30. The weather had been very bright before we left but the same dull cloud arrived as yesterday as soon as I hit the trail. It was still warm, though, and for the fourth day in a row I walked in shorts, something I 'd never done before.

The Wye at HayNot Far To Go!The walk began by crossing the Wye bridge and very nice the river looked at this spot. Apparently, the Hay to Hereford railway used to run alongside the river and it is supposedly possible to see the path it took. Maybe my imagination isn't good enough, 'cos I saw nowt! I did see a rather super map of the whole of The Path on a board and took a photo of it. I'll try to get a copy from the ODA (Offa's Dyke Association in Knighton on Thursday). As I entered the field beside the map a stile reminded me that there were only 123 miles to Prestatyn! The Path followed the river for a while, partly along a wooded path and then across fields. The walking was easy and the air was cool; very pleasant conditions. I didn't find the supposed plank footbridge to cross a stream and began to fear for my direction yet again but the busy traffic on the A438 made me sure I was going in the right direction. After a while I left the main road and began a steep climb, entering another woodland above Bettws Dingle and eventually into the Dingle itself. One of the flat paths was very pleasantly carpeted with decaying pine needles giving it a wonderfully springy bounce.

I stopped for a drink and then began a 2½ mile trudge mainly along tarmaced roads of varying widths. I had walked about five miles and not seen another soul and I began to wonder if I was the only person walking The Path today. There were a few muddy paths and my boots actually got dirty (shock, horror!) but suddenly a new vista opened up with the village of Newchurch nestling in the bottom of a valley. I walked through it and saw that it is little more than a church with a farm and a few houses, albeit one of them, Great House, being rather splendid. the church too is quite attractive despite the corrugated sheeting on part of one side.

The Three StoogesOn Disgwylfa HillAfter passing through the village I started the climb up Disgwylfa Hill and thought I'd seen a mirage - three more walkers, who quickly disappeared over a ridge. I eventually spotted them again, apparently playing some sort of game whereby two held a pole between and rotated through 360° whilst the other took photos - very strange! They turned out to be Brian from Wokingham, Chris from Margate and Sean from London. The fourth member of their group had twisted an ankle on the walk over from Capel-y-ffin and had had to retire. They were good guys and later Steph, who you'll meet in a minute, named them The Three Stooges. They took my photo and I walked along with them for a while and let Sean do the navigating. They also tried to sell me one of their domain names (ergoldenjubilee.com). We came over a rise and there was Hergest Ridge (pronounced Hargest with a hard g) one of the spectacular features of today's walk.

Hergest Ridge by Mike OldfieldHergest Ridge was Mike Oldfield's second album. Released in autumn 1974 it took over from his continuingly famous and constantly reincarnated Tubular Bells at No. 1 in the UK album charts. In 1976 he remixed the album and all later releases were of this version, which some consider to be inferior to the original. So if you have a copy of the original on LP then hold onto it like gold.

In Richard Carter's Mike Oldfield Discography he writes about Hergest Ridge:

Hergest Ridge (the place behind the album name) - is a hilly ridge on the Welsh border which Mike was able to see from his house at the time of writing the album. He moved there after the success of Tubular Bells to escape the attention. The album cover, again done by Trevor Key, features a dog and a model glider. Mike Oldfield used to enjoy flying model gliders from the top of Hergest Ridge, which is probably why one features on the cover. The LP featured a close up picture of Bootleg's head (Bootleg being the dog) mostly in silhouette, with what is presumably the countryside surrounding Hergest Ridge behind him (it certainly looks very similar to the countryside in that area). Bootleg was one of two Irish Wolfhounds from The Manor. Wolfhounds from The Manor have since appeared on albums by other artists. The album was recorded mostly at The Manor, although Tom Newman seemed to recall (in an interview with David Porter) having done some sessions at Chipping Norton studios as well. The equipment used would have been much the same as that used for Tubular Bells. Tom also said that the album was mixed at Air Studios in London.

The reclusive Oldfield gave an interview to Melody Maker in September 1974 where he talked about the album, comparing it with Tubular Bells:

"Hergest Ridge, on the other hand, is smooth, uncluttered. There are no tube trains, very few car doors, lots of open countryside, smooth hills, a general feeling of smoothness and well-being and non-hysteria, just a much nicer environment. In fact, we went to Cornwall, and driving back we were listening to Hergest Ridge on the car stereo, and as far as relating the music to the countryside - I've only just thought of this approach - It wasn't like Cornwall at all. It was really like Herefordshire."

"It's basically not more than six different tunes and the tunes are related, so the whole thing is related. Also, if you want to get anything out of it, you've got to really listen to it. There's lots of things hidden, things that may seem meaningless, but they do have a meaning, a musical meaning. And just the general texture is so comforting."

I suggested that one of the things the critics found most difficult to accept about Hergest Ridge was this comforting effect, the romanticism of the tunes, in a world where music had to be agonising to be taken seriously."

"Silly boys," he said, half to himself. "The problem of the world today is that there's not enough romance".

Hergest RidgeThe Royal Oak, GladestryThe guys twisted my arm up my back so far that I was forced to go into the Royal Oak at Gladestry with them. I was the first to order and, of course, had a pint of bitter. They then ordered pints of lemonade and lime - wimps! In the pub I met two other Path walkers, Harry and Steph from Derbyshire who were going all the way to Prestatyn following a similar schedule to me. The three wimps retired to a local bench to have their lunch and I began the climb up Hergest Ridge. As I climbed a couple of school teachers with a dozen or so young kids came down the track looking as though they were having a great time. I continued climbing, stopped to look at the view and suddenly Steph and Harry were with me so I walked with them for a while a took their photo too. They are really experienced walkers, not a couple, but part of the same walking club and seem to have done most of the main long distance paths.

Harry and StephWelcome to KingtonThe views from Hergest Ridge are spectacular all round. It felt rather special being there (as if a piece of music from a 1970s rock musician had turned it into a mystical place!) and it was a bit of a pull to descend. Then, rather bizarrely we came across a group of monkey puzzle trees. Why on earth they should have been planted in such a place was a real mystery. We crossed the remnants of the former Kington horse racing track which, I guess has been closed for very many years since it remains only an impression in the landscape. I stopped by a rather pretty gorse bush in flower for my lunch and let Harry and Steph carry on together with Kington, tonight's destination, just below. I phoned Noelene but she was still in the bookshops in Hay and continued down into the town, arriving at the war memorial (the end of today's walk and tomorrow's start) at about 15:45. I made my way to the very nice Tan House B&B on Tanyard by the side of the River Arrow and sat drinking tea and chatting to Alan, mine host, for quite a while.

Later, Noelene and I walked into town, saw the Three Stooges and had an excellent meal at the Swan, the best dinner of the walk so far, superbly cooked by John Badley who deserves at least three ***. Harry and Steph were also in the restaurant and I hope that I'll be able to meet up with them again tomorrow. According to the guide, Thursday's trek from Kington to Knighton is the best of The Path and, at 13½ miles, considerably shorter than I've been doing over the last four days.

Day 5 Impressions

Day five was special in a number of ways; the combination of woodland, fields and moor, the friendly walkers that I met, the wonder of Hergest Ridge, the relatively easy walking and John Badley's excellent fish at The Swan. All in all a day wi' nowt to complain about, as we say in Lancashire.

Grub:

Tuna with tomato and coriander salsa
Grilled sea bass with a shrimp and lemon balm risotto
Honey and walnut tart with crème Anglais (which turned out to be cream)

Booze:

Thomas Bewick Bitter from the Dunn Plowman Brewery, Kington - quite low alcohol (3.7%) but with a lovely flavour
A very nice full bodied fruity French dry white wine (a sort of cross between a Viognier and a New Zealand Chardonnay)

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