Author Topic: A and E tours Charity Walks  (Read 4711 times)

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Offline Pendragon

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A and E tours Charity Walks
« on: April 18, 2014, 04:24:14 pm »
A and E Tours was a term coined by a woman called Cath that we met in Chepstow last May.  Elaine Smithson Steward of the Conwy Cruising Club and I walked from Chepstow to Prestatyn along Offa's Dyke a total of 177 miles.  Although it was hard going it was also good fun.  It rained constantly for the first 4 days I kid you not, we had planned to camp but due to the weather this was nigh on impossible and so we improvised and managed to take refuge in barns (bin sheds if I'm honest) and a pensioners flat bless him......I'll tell you that story later. 
We also organised a sponsored walk for locals from Prestatyn to Conwy which was 27 miles.  In total we raised £3,761.90 for the Conwy Poppy Appeal.

These walks are made possible by pledges of £30 given by local businesses and pubs.  Without their help we couldn't go.  We camp all the way with the exception of maybe one or two B and Bs.

This years walk is 186 miles along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and it wil take us 2 weeks.  We leave for Amroth on the 6th June (DDay) and arrive in St Dogmaels on the 21st June (Armed Forces Day)  This stretch of the Wales Coastal Path is reported to be the most picturesque.  We just hope the weather is better than last year  8) We thought we would be arriving home with trench foot as opposed to a sun tan.

In addition we have organised a sponsored walk for everyone else called the Port to Port.  This walk starts on the 22nd June 9am at Porth Penrhyn Bangor and finishes approximately 20 miles later On Conwy Quay. The main coordinator for this walk is Clare Roberts landlady of the LA.  Anyone can join in at any stage of this trek.  Sponsor forms are available at the Liverpool Arms Conwy and the Conwy Legion.

We have set up a Virgin giving page and a facebook page too.  Links for both are at the bottom of this page.

All money raised this year will be split equally between the Poppy Appeal and the RNLI.

https://www.facebook.com/ConwyPoppyHonourWalk2013

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=angieparry
« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 05:28:35 pm by Ian »
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

Offline Pendragon

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2014, 04:30:03 pm »
Day 1 Offa's Dykle walk

Day 1- Conwy to Sedbury
 
The plan was to meet Godfrey down at the Liverpool Arms in Conwy at 8.30am, so we were up early packing last minute bits and bobs into our huge rucksacks.  We had a coffee with Clare and a photo of our departure and off we went to start our 2 week Poppy Honour Walk across the entire length of Offa's Dyke which is 177 miles and we were really excited.
 
We had arranged with Graham the owner of The Rickyard Bunk house in Monmouth to drop off the big rucksacks with him until we arrived there on the Saturday having walked from the start point at Sedbury Cliffs 17 miles away but unfortunately when we arrived he wasn't in.  Now my idea of a Bunk House is it's a kind of Youth Hostel where lots of people all stay and for this reason I didn't want to leave all our belongings in the door way, we looked around but Graham was nowhere to be seen and so we left our bags in his conservatory with a note explaining who we were.
 
We got back into Godfreys car with just our day bags, sleeping bags, roll mats and all the gear we would need for the 17 mile trek the next day and we set off for Sedbury where the Chairman of the Sedbury Legion had given us permission to stay in the scout hut situated in the grounds.  We arrived around 3pm only to find the Legion was shut too, not to worry we had the number of the Scout leader and we knew they had the key to the hut.  This is when we met Linda and her mother Thelma (Chairwoman of the Womens section of the Legion) what lovely people they were too.  We dumped the bags and headed for the only pub in the village which was a bit posh if I'm honest.  We got talking to a Scotish lady called Cath at the bar and she gave us a lift into Chepstow, where there were lots more pubs.....bonus.
 
Cath was a really nice and we had a couple of pints with her in a pub where she had once been Landlady a few years earlier.  She kept forgetting our names and so she said it was easier to remember if she called us A and E hehe and here the phrase was coined The A and E tours which is exactly how the rest of the trek panned out.
 
We returned to Sedbury British Legion about half 7 that night, we had a great welcome, a few more pints and raised £65 before leaving for the Scout hut where we set out our beds slightly worse for wear but still looking forward to the morning when we started the trek.
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley


Offline Pendragon

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2014, 04:46:31 pm »
Day 2 Sedbury to Monmouth 17 miles.
 
Elaine was awake with the larks and raring to go, I however was slightly hung over and desperate for an extra half hour in bed and so I decided to ignore her quiet calls of "Ang, Ang it's time to get up" but I needn't have bothered as the next thing she was stamping about in her heavy boots on the wooden flooring and thrusting a coffee under my nose, now I know I should be grateful......but I wasn't and I was even less impressed when through bleary eyes I looked at my phone and realised it was only 7.30am, those that know me know I do not do mornings lol.  Reluctantly I dragged my sorry ass out of my sleeping bag and after 3 fags and lots more coffee packed up my stuff and we headed off to Sedbury Cliffs for the start of the walk to Monmouth.
 
It started to rain as we made our way up to Sedbury Cliffs but we weren't bothered a little rain never hurt anyone and we had our wets with us.  It was a hard trog up and down all those hills .  Three hours later we found shelter in a bus stop in the middle of nowhere and decided to make lunch......Lainy made a cupasoup on our little camping stove and I began to boil water for an Oxo, across the road a farmer pulled up to see to his flock of sheep as me and Lainy bickered in the bus stop, we could see him laughing.  I'm very clumsy and as I went to get the little pan of boiling water off the camping stove, knocked it over nearly causing Lainy 3rd degree burns (luckily she has quick reflexes and was unharmed hehe) but that meant my chance of lunch was dashed,  the farmer laughed even more and jokingly I said "I don't suppose your going to the next village are you" "Yes, why do you want a lift" he said....he didn't have to ask me twice as I began packing up my rucksack and telling Lainy to get a move on.  She looked at me indignantly and said "don't rush me I haven't finished my cupasoup yet!!" now it hadn't stopped raining since the morning and although we had shower proof clothing on they weren't p#ssing down with rain proof you understand and so I turned to her and said "Just get in the car" lol.  She followed with the hot camping stove wrapped in a tea towel.
 
The farmer took us a couple of miles down the road where we met up with the way markers for the Offa's Dyke once more.  Again we treked up and down hills for the next 8 miles.  We arrived in Brockweir soaking wet with shoulders aching as even the day bags we carried along with sleeping bags and mats were heavy although they remained dry thankfully as we had wrapped them in bin bags before setting off.  First stop was the Brockweir Inn where we had lunch and for the first time I had a coffee and Lainy had a J2O.  We didn't speak much as we were absolutely knackered.  We kept looking at each other and laughing....I think it was exhaustion that did it hehe but at least we remained in good humour.
 
We arrived in Monmouth around 6pm but couldn't remember where the Rickyard Bunk House was so we found the nearest British Legion for help, it was still raining and our shoulders were burning with the weight of out day bags.  We had just ordered a taxi and a pint when Graham from the Rickyard phoned me and was really miffed we had left our bags in "His private quarters and not in the Bunk House" so riddled with guilt we bought him a box of Maltesers to soften him up.
 
Even the taxi driver had a hard time finding the Rickyard but we eventually found it out in the sticks.  Graham came to meet us, he reminded me of Basil Faulty and after apologising profusely we were forgiven.  We soon realised on arrival that we had no food and nowhere to buy any, so seen as Graham was alright with us we decided to say nothing of the peace offering and ate the Maltesers ourselves lol.
 
The Bunk house was fantastic, a huge chalet type place with showers, large living area, separate kitchen and room to sleep 20+ people, it cost us £16 a night but he didn't charge us for heating bless him and so we dried all our clothes and packed up our large rucksacks ready for the morning.  They were ridiculously heavy and we tried desperately to dump stuff but it's not as if we'de packed unnecessary clothing, hair dryers and stuff, we needed everything in the bags.  There was nothing for it we'd have to carry the bags!!  It was a shower and bed early ready for the next day.
The p[ictures are not necessarily in order sorry.
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

Offline hollins

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2014, 05:14:14 pm »


Quote

This years walk is 186 miles along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and it wil take us 2 weeks.  We leave for Amroth on the 6th June (DDay) and arrive in St Dogmaels on the 21st June (Armed Forces Day)  This stretch of the Wales Coastal Path is reported to be the most picturesque. 





Hi Pendragon. There are some photos on this link of what will be your first days walk from Amroth. I hope you get better weather this time.
Good Luck.

http://threetownsforum.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,33.msg51385.html#msg51385

« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 05:29:29 pm by Ian »

Offline Pendragon

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2014, 05:15:12 pm »
Thanks Hollins x
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

Offline Pendragon

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2014, 05:17:21 pm »
Day 3 Monmouth to Pandy 16 miles
 
I awoke with a lip like Pete Burns, I kid you not I had the biggest cold sore you've ever seen folks.  I must have been run down and it was no wonder, Lainy again made the coffee and informed me it was 7.30am.  I got up and found my phone only to realise she'd lied and it was actually 7.10am.  We had to go into Monmouth town to get breakfast so it was a rushed shower and a quick look at the maps only to find we we're actually nearly 2 miles out of town. 
 
We soon realised that carrying the huge rucksacks wasn't an option, it was all I could do to get the bloody thing on my back and Lainy was the same.  We had to laugh the scenery was lovely from the door of the Bunk House but we emerged like crabs doubled up with the weight of the ruckies and we tried standing straight but couldn't hehe.  We made it about 100 yards down the road and due to the fact we had no signal on our phones called at the first farm house we saw and asked if we could phone a taxi to arrange the transfer of the bags. 
The farmer couldn't have been more helpful his wife even made us coffee and offered us toast.  We phoned a taxi and 20 minutes later we we're left with just our day bags minus the sleeping bags etc aahh much better.  Our Ruckies we're now on their way to The Rising Sun campsite in Pandy and 2 miles later down in the Green Dragon Pub after a cooked breakfast we made our way to join them.
 
It started to rain again only this time it was heavy rain, we we're before long soaked once more but our spirits believe it or not we're still high.  We we're having a great time the views we're beautiful, I didn't take many photos as the rain wouldn't let up. 
 
Quite a lot of the walk was on lanes and roads and about 10 miles in we got to the Warwick pub where we stopped for food and a pint.  We didn't realise and it's something to keep in mind if your thinking of doing the Offa's Dyke is most villages along the way comprise of 3 houses, no shops and a pub that is more often than not closed.  So you have to get food when the chance arises, the sandwiches arrived and there was loads of them, too many to eat all at once.....I'm not sure if they were more generous given our cause but like a pair of hobbos we asked for cling film so we could save the rest for later lol.  The Landlady and staff made a donation and we were once again on our way.
 
We arrived in the Rising Sun the ground was wet but not too bad and the owner said we could keep our stuff in the shower rooms to keep them dry.  We were very grateful as the weather was about to get worse.  We managed to get the tent up with no trouble and had a couple of pints in the pub.  We had a giggle that night laughing about the trials so far.  Off to Hay on Wye the next day over the Black Mountains so we got an early night ready for the morning........little did we know what a nightmare lay ahead.
Believe it or not the lambs in the photo were playing a game of tag along the Dyke.  I only wrote in full the first 5 days.  The rest are just short accounts.
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

Offline Pendragon

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2014, 05:26:11 pm »
Pandy to Hay On Wye 14 miles.
 
Lainy woke me up 7.45 in the morning with the familiar sound of the little pocket rocket (gas burner) boiling water for coffee.  The weather didn't look that bad although it was very overcast and it had been raining overnight so the tent was again wet.  We had a quick shower and waited for the taxi to transfer our large ruckies to Hay on Wye.  We were looking forward to todays walk as we were off over the Black Mountains. 
 
The only place to get food for the day was the local garage just up the road so off we went.  On the way we came accross a pub called the Skirrid Mountain Inn.  A very impressive building believed to be Wales oldest Inn, here in North Wales we have the oldest pub.  As we were outside taking Photos the caretaker came out and invited us in.  What a fabulous place.  It's said that Judge Jeffreys hung more than 180 people in the stair well, the noose is still hanging there but obviously not the original.  The caretaker said the Inn now makes more money by renting the building out to various ghost tours and investigators.  Guests have reported seeing strange apparitions in their rooms and one lady reported a lady trying to drown her in the bath!!! We must have been in the Skirrid for just over an hour taking pictures but it was well worth it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skirrid_Mountain_Inn.
 
We were by now running late and the weather took a turn for the worse.......nothing we hadn't faced before.  We made a start over the fields and railway tracks and started up hill to the Black Mountains, the rain was pouring down now.  We checked the route in the guide book and noticed a warning stating not to attempt the Black Mountains if it was raining, misty and cold.......it was all three but we decided to carry on just incase there was a break in the weather but as we neared the top it just got worse.  Realising neither of us possesed the skills to navigate off the mountain using only maps and a compass in the heavy fog and having heard all the horror stories of people found dead up there in bad weather we had no choice but to abandon this leg of the trek.....we were gutted but left with no other choice but to find the nearest path down off the mountain and continue to Hay On Wye via the road which was without doubt the longest way round.
 
We walked in the rain for miles, passed a village called Cloddock which was very pretty even in the rain.  It had a river running through it and an old Mill, Lainy was so tired she refused to get off the bridge where she was sat lol.  I went off to take some photos deciding to give her a rest.  Under protest Lainy and I gathered our stuff and continued on to Longtown another 2 miles down the road.  As we turned the corner into the village there was a pub......bonus....we had a well deserved rest and a pint of lager.  We got talking to the Landlord who told us that Hay on Wye was another 11 miles away by road but his friend could give us a lift if we paid him £30!!! This was not an option so we decided to carry on, on foot.
 
We persevered for another 3 miles and having walked up and then back down the mountain and walked the long way round on the road, which is harder and further anyway we decided we'd hitch but we were doomed as hardly any cars came and when we reached the end of the road it was closed.  We took refuge in a bus shelter type building (it wasn't a bus shelter as no buses travelled this route) we were both soaking wet, absolutely knackered and close to tears by this point.  We decided to phone the camp site and get the owner to some how arrange to come and get us, we had done the millage just taken a different route.  We found the guys number then realised that both our phones had no reception.  By now we were rapidly losing the will to live and both questioning what the hell we were doing here, this was by far the low point of the whole trek and we knew it.
 
We stopped a tractor to ask if there was any local taxis but there wasn't as we were in the middle of nowhere and so we decided to go back to the only farm house we had seen to see if we could use their landline to phone the campsite in Hay on Wye. 
 
We trudged up to the http://www.blackmountainsfarmrestaurant.co.uk/ 
Dripping wet and exhausted we knocked on the door, a lovely lady called Pauline answered and looked us up and down.....I said "I hope you have a sense of humour" she smiled and asked us how she could help.  I explained that we needed to use her land line to phone the campsite etc and she replied "your just in time, I'm off to Hay on Wye now with a womans group (WI kind of thing), jump in the car and I'll give you a lift" we were so relieved, what an Angel.  I turned to look at Lainy who was standing leaning on her sticks wimpering "I think I'm going to cry, no really I'm going to cry" then she burst into tears bless her.  I wanted to cry myself but was far too busy taking the mick out of her hehe.  I knew exactly how she felt though.
 
We arrived in Hay on Wye to find once again the campsite was flooded so we had to book into a B and B called the Bellmont.  It was very basic but the owner Francis was lovely and it beat camping hands down.  Francis wanted us to take off our muddy boots at the door which was not good, we told her our feet were probably stinking but she wasn't bothered.  We had a bath and headed off into the town to get something to eat. 
 
Hay on Wye is a lovely picturesque town with an abundance of old streets and buildings.  We headed to the local British Legion just up the road from the B and B.  We had a laugh in there with the locals and they reccomended a pub up the road for food called the Blue Ball, it was a bit posh in here for us and so we  asked where the locals local was.  We were directed to The Rose and Crown but were also told the locals don't really like strangers in here but they calm down if you take an interest in the pictures on the walls and the history of the building.  So we made a bee line for it, on walking in I made a bee line for the bar and Lainy walked round looking at the pictures on the walls, they were right and soon we were stood at the bar with the landlord Paul engrossed in conversation it was a great pub.  Both Paul and his wife Lin were from Essex and and both were truly nice people.  We got sponsor money from one one woman at the bar and when we were leaving some time later half cut at 12.30am both Paul and Lin gave us donations too fair play to them. 
We headed back to the B and B for a good nights sleep with pillows........aahhh bliss.
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

Offline Pendragon

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2014, 05:28:02 pm »
Hay on Wye - Kington 16.14 miles.
 
Believe it or not I awoke first and to Lainey's amazement I also had her cup of tea ready mainly because I'd had a good nights sleep and I wasn't having to crawl out of a cold damp tent. 
We'd asked Francis for breakfast at 8am so we could make an early start.  We sat eating breakfast and having a scan of the maps, we were heading for Bredward Farm Campsite in Kington, now bearing in mind this area had recieved a months rain in three days, we didn't hold out much hope of being able to pitch a tent that night.  It was all very disheartening but we laughed when we realised nothing could be as bad as the day before, so we packed up our day bags complete with wets (waterproofs) and waited in the lobby for the taxi to transport our Ruckies.  The taxi guy arrived and when we told him where we were staying he raised his eyebrows, which is never a good sign, he said the campsite was in the middle of nowhere but if we wanted to go into Kington at night we could give him a ring and he would sort us out a taxi to town and back for £12 (usually £16). 
 
We'd noticed on the maps that there wasn't really any villages on the route so it was another trip to Spar for supplies and off we went across the bridge and picked up the path which ran along the river.  The first thing we noticed was an abandoned canoe and we giggled as we could have done with that over the last couple of days.  It was spitting and the ground was very wet and muddy so we had to tread carefully.  We left the river bank and headed off road towards the forestry commission section. 
 
This section had diversions due to Forestry maintainance, we had to enter the forest via a little gate.  Huge Caterpillar machinery had gouged 2 foot deep muddy tracks through the forest which we somehow had to cross.  We couldn't stop laughing as we slipped and slided all over the place.  I tried to get a photo of Lainy in the mud and asked her to stay still to which she shouted "while your p#ssing about like David Bailey I'm effing sinking" I couldn't hold the camera steady for laughing......and then slipped on my ass in the mud.....so we were both hysterical.  We had to get out of here apart from anything else it was dangerous, the only way was to follow the Caterpillar tracks until we found a gap in the fence, which we did a little further on.  We climbed over the fence we were covered in mud and I mean knee deep, I kid you not. 
We decided to have a coffee in the field adjacent to the forest as we had to find our bearings again to rejoin the Offa's Dyke path.  We scanned the maps once more then headed off across the field, the grass was very long and it was still raining in spurts so by the time we got to the style at the other end most of the mud had washed off our gaters and boots......now we needed the toilet from all the laughing and coffee.  Sorry folks but needs must on a venture like this so it was a case of finding the nearest tree to hide behind lol.  Unfortunately I didn't look behind me and stung my butt on nettles....I thought Lainy was going to wet herself laughing (as I would have done if I'm honest) and for the next hour she was smirking at me and looking for doc leaves. 
 
We crossed field after field and followed endless muddy tracks then began to climb a steep hill, crossed a mountain range then back down into a little village, I forget the name of it now but as always there was three houses and not much else.  We took shelter from the rain in a church doorway and decided to eat our Spar sandwiches vowing to never buy another one as long as we lived.  We took another look at the maps and realised we had to follow another really muddy lane, or the alternative was to follow the road which would add 4 miles to the days trek.  For safety reasons we took the executive decision to continue on the road as the lane was steep and very slippy.
 
We walked around another three miles and it started chucking it down again but still we kept up the mantra of "it's not as bad as yesterday."  A guy passed us in his car and then pulled up on the road asking if we wanted a lift...we weren't going to pass up the opportunity and so got in, he was on his way to the local school about a mile further on but every little helps hehe.  He dropped us off by a pub called the Royal Oak which was closed.  Again we took shelter in the doorway and looked at the maps Kington was still another 5 miles by road and it was getting late now, the mud and rain had added vital hours to the days trek.  So we decided to hitch.  We got a lift to Kington almost straight away for which we were very grateful.
 
Arriving in Kington we looked for the nearest pub because we needed directions to the campsite....and if you believe that you'll believe anything hehe.  We headed for the Wine Vault on the high street.  What a fantastic little pub this was, the landlord Dean turned the fire up so we could dry our clothes out on two little stools bless him.  This was a real locals local with some great characters.
 
We got talking to Dean the landlord he had a micro brewery outside in his shed which he showed us.  Dean had won countless awards for his Arrow Bitter.  A guy at the bar called Pixie had spent many happy holidays in Penmaenmawr and Conwy so we had a good old chinwag with him.  A lady called Barbera who was very excentric, a small woman around 60 years old wearing a bobble hat and was clearly an avid wine drinker, she had at one point been a cook at a very posh local hotel and she made outlandish cakes for people on a regular basis whether they wanted one or not hehe she spoke in a very posh accent and reminded me of Julia Walters as Mrs O in Acorn antiques.   I had a very funny conversation with her which went like this.....
Barbera "Were having a party here y'know"
Me        "really"
Barbera "Yes, and I'm making a cake"
Me        "That'll be nice"
Barbera "Yes, Yes......I don't know which cake to make? Shall I make a hedgehog               or a bottle of beer? What do you think?"
Desperately trying not to laugh I said I was sure whichever one she made would be lovely hehe she was absolutely crackers but really nice.
 
Our attention was soon centred round alternative accomodation as it was clear we couldn't camp as according to the locals the site was flooded.  We asked for the number of the nearest YHA.  This was when Pixie said "wait here a minute" and he disappeared outside, two minutes later he returned and said "listen girls me and my wife live in separate houses (no wonder they had been together for donkey years) I've just phoned her and I'm going to stay with her tonight so you can sleep in my flat round the corner."  We couldn't believe it, who does that?
Now it was a case of picking up the ruckies.  This is when we were told the campsite was only a mile and a half out of town, which then made us realise what the taxi driver had said about the £12 taxi fare for three miles......now either he had made a mistake or he was trying to pull a fast one.  Dean took me to get the bags which we dropped off in Pixies house.
 
Now attention had turned to food, we were starving and it was nearly 9pm.  We were told to go to the Royal Oak up the road as they were open late and the food was good.  At the Royal Oak we met the landlord Jo he was a typical cockney and we got talking about Pixie and his generosity.  Jo said if we came up to the pub 8am in the morning he would cook us a breakfast, he didn't have to ask twice.  After a lovely hot meal we returned to the Wine Vault for another pint and then went to camp in Pixies flat....what a nice guy.
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

Offline Pendragon

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2014, 05:44:22 pm »
Last entry for now promise  :P

We wore these tabards on the trip and every name on them are people who helped us out along the way from free campsites, to food and washing our clothes.  People were amazing.
We've already been offered 2 nights free camping for this years trek.......fair play.  Plus we have raised over £600 and we haven't even gone yet  D)
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

Offline snowcap

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2014, 10:25:20 pm »
keep it coming Ang. great reading and good luck on your next walk, hope you get some great weather this time

Offline Pendragon

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #10 on: April 24, 2014, 09:00:34 pm »
Day 6 Kington to Knighton 14.25 miles

We woke up in a warm flat and knew we had a cooked breakfast waiting for us in The Royal Oak.  Today was going to be good...we thought.  We packed up our stuff and had a coffee.  Pixie arrived to take our bags over to Knighton he was a star that guy and we are still in touch now.  He gave us advise on which route to take and thinking he was a local and so he would know best we took his advise without consulting the guide book. 
We started our trek up yet another steep hill.  We had walked for approximately 3 miles before reaching the Whetstone and an area of trees which looked completely out of place on the hill.  We sat on the bench and admired the views at which point we looked in the guide book.......we couldn't find this place? There was no reference to the Whetstone this was odd we thought.  We carried on over the hill trying to find out where we were.  Another 2 miles later we were coming down the other side, suddenly Elaine said "Oh no there's that pub we saw yesterday" "no it's not" I replied "yeah it is look at the sign" I didn't want to look as it dawned on me we had actually returned to the exact spot where we had diverted the day before.  I was at this point losing the will to live closely followed by Elaine.  This was a disaster, we had to regroup and come up with a plan as we were supposed to be heading in the direction of Dolly Green which was infact 10 miles the other way.  Gutted we decided to go for something to eat in the pub.  We couldn't go back the way we had come as we wouldn't have enough time to get to get to Knighton.  The decision was made that we had done the mileage so we got a taxi to Dolly Green.  The taxi driver was a lovely lady and she refused to take the fare from us fair play.
Right onwards and upwards quite literally we were once again on track.  More hills, marshes and mountains we made our way to Knighton laughing about out earlier hiccup.  A and E tours was well underway hehe.  We finally got to the road into Knighton and it was a long one, suddenly a coach stopped and the driver asked if we wanted a lift into town.  The drivers name was Iola and he said he stopped when he saw our Poppy Appeal tabards.  He dropped us in town and gave us a fiver bless him.
We found the nearest pub and had a pint....well 2 actually.  Our attention was now on sleeping arrangements as we knew the campsite was flooded.  We contemplated a B and B but they were really expensive so that was out of the question.  I told Elaine I'd sort it and went outside to phone the guy on the campsite.  I asked if he had a shed or anything we could use......he did it was a bin shed.  Deciding that at least we would be dry I took him up on his offer, Elaine was not impressed.  She was even less impressed when she realised we were to share our bin shed with a bat.....I had to laugh. 
We had a laugh that night about the trials of the day.  We woke up early the next morning with people putting their rubbish in the recycling bins hehe.  We made a start for Newcastle on Clun.  We needed a breakfast first so off we went into town.
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #11 on: April 24, 2014, 10:39:26 pm »
Knighton to Newcastle on Clun 8.25 miles

We arrived at a cafe called JDs in the middle of town.  Dean the guy who ran it was proper funny, he had banter with every customer in the place and all you could hear was laughing.  Dean was like a one man cabaret act and it was no surprise we managed to get the only available table.  We ordered our breakfast and he soon came over to ask what we were up to.  He insisted on paying for our breakfast bless him and donated a tenner.  Ah that was a mighty fine breakfast too let me tell you.
We knew today was the day my Dad was coming down and he'd promised us hot home cooked stew......bliss.  I think that's what kept us going through out the day.  The walk today was just over 8 miles so it was a relatively easy walk.  Plus tomorrow was our one and only rest day.  However this walk also reached the highest point on the Dyke 430 meters 1141 ft high but with some of the best views of the Dyke too. 
We went to have a look at the heritage centre and bought hats and badges.  We took our time on this day.  Again the views were marvelous as we skirted the river and headed off up the hill.  It was here we met the Sherpas a group of men who walk all over the country.  We got talking to them and they gave us a donation of £15 between them.  People were just so nice everywhere we went.
Soon we reached the top and panting for breadth we sat down for at least half an hour admiring the views.  It was time for the decent which was quite difficult for Elaine as her Knee was giving her jip.  She put on her strap which made it a little easier. 
We could see the campsite from the top of the hill, out came my little binoculars and there in the field was MY DADS VAN......whoopy doo we did a little dance on the hill at the thought of STEW and REAL CRUSTY BREAD.......oh my god our mouths were watering we couldn't get to the camp fast enough.
As we came round the corner there was my Dad getting the camp ready.  I was nearly in tears as I ran over and gave him a big hug.  We were so chuffed to see him and Shaz.  He'd even bought us some cans.....today could not be better. 
Before long we could smell the aroma of stew coming from his camper van.  Elaine and I sat at the table without saying a word it was sheer heaven.  :-X
We went to introduce ourselves to the Dawn the campsite owner and she kindly offered to do all our washing.  She made us laugh as we said our clothes were quite smelly and we'd rather put them in the washing machine ourselves but she said "I have a husband, your clothes can not possibly be as smelly as his"  :laugh:
We spent the day in the village of Clun where a shop keeper gave us some free walking socks.  My Dad and Sharon were supposed to stay for the rest of the week but my Dad had been very ill lately and so had to go home early, to be fair he shouldn't have really been there at all but he's very stubborn and didn't want to let us down.
After some real home cooking and a proper day off it was time to start all over again.  Maybe the day off was not a good idea as we really didn't want too my legs had ceased up hehe.
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #12 on: June 26, 2014, 08:04:03 pm »
We had decided last year that our aim was to walk the entire length of the Wales Coastal Path over 4 years which is over 1000 miles.
As your aware we walked the Offa's Dyke boundary last year so Pembroke was the obvious choice for this year as it's reputed to be the best section.
The Pembroke Coast is 186 miles of spectacular scenery and thriving with wildlife. Over the two weeks we saw Red Kites, Kestrels, Buzzards, Bull Finches, Gold Finches, Seals and even an Osprey. It was hard going but fantastic.

We set off 7am Friday 6th June with Godfrey Armstrong and Pete BBC (Mcmillan) sharing the driving to Amroth near Tenby. The journey took us approximately 4 hours. We arrived in the quiet little seaside village of Amroth at 12 noon, the weather was rough but thankfully it wasn't raining. We all sat down to what seemed like the last supper before Godfrey and Pete abandoned us and went on their way to Laugharne to visit the boathouse of Dylan Thomas.

We set off uphill through the woods and then downhill and onto a similar path to the Marine walk in Conwy. We were desperately hoping this walk wasn't going to be as up and down as Offa's but hope was fading fast as we climbed steps and clambered down hillsides only to repeat the same over and over again.

It was only 7 miles to Tenby so we had a short rest (Pint) in the Bucaneer where we checked the weather warnings for that night as it was supposed to be horrendous, as it turned out Tenby missed the worst of it so we were quite safe. We were meeting Byron and Dorinda in Tenby as they were going to carry our ruckies for the first week whilst having a holiday at the same time.
We arrived in Tenby about 2 hours later and found a B and B called Courtney House ran by an old couple called Ron and Beryl. Ron was an old soldier he was really nice and offered to pick up our bags from the lobby of Byron and Dorinda's hotel. We walked outside to meet Ron in his vintage Jag, Dorinda's face was a picture when we arrived in style hehe. After a shower we met up with Byron and Dorinda for a few drinks. They left sometime later and due to the smoking ban Lainey and I sat on a bench at the end of the road having a giggle. Let the fun begin.........
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

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Re: A and E tours Charity Walks
« Reply #13 on: June 26, 2014, 11:06:15 pm »
I awoke 7am to the alarm giving it yeeha..... oooh maybe the carry out was a bad idea and maybe we'd spent too long on the bench giggling the night before but not Lainey nooooo she had joined the "wide awake club" and was bouncing round the room having already had a shower, kettle was on and she'd made herself a flask, it was all I could do to get my head off the pillow lol. There was no sign of Ron that morning only Beryl and she greeted us with a big smile and a cooked breakfast, I asked if I could have my flask filled "Course Del I'll do it for you now" I made the spoilt kid face to Lainey and grinned but wasn't so impressed when we got the bill and she'd charged me 70p for it........I named her Rabanovich for the rest of the day and it was now Elaine's turn to look smug.

Today we were off to Stackpole passing through 2 firing ranges, 2 army camps and a missile range........it's surprising how much of the Pembroke Coast is taken up by defence? It was a little un nerving when a sign on the gate to the missile range read "You may hear a loud noise".....Really!!

Elaine usually walks in front while I take pictures and I had to laugh when I turned a corner and there she was on her hands and knees having tripped and narrowly missed getting soaked in a small stream........but not as funny as when a jogger came up behind me with two labradores.......now I know it's tight but you must understand that laughing at each other is how Elaine and I pass the miles........I moved out of the way for the jogger but Elaine didn't hear her and was blissfully unaware of her presence....but I was....I waited for the jogger to get right up behind Lain and then shouted "Oi Lain turn round" she thought I wanted to take a photo so spun round ready to shout abuse and was faced with a complete stranger and two large dogs, she had a hellova fright and screamed loudly holding her heart......pppfffft I don't know who got the biggest shock her or the Jogger........I fell over laughing.

We were meeting Byron and Dorinda at Stackpole where I had booked us into chalets....Beach side Chalets, we were all looking forward to this, I'd managed to get them at a discount price. We were expecting exactly that a beach side chalet. I imagined a wooden pastel coloured chalet a stones throw away from the beach but this was not the case. The chalets were not even in Stackpole they were 4 miles away in Fresh water East so poor Byron and Dorinda had to come and fetch us. Although the chalets were very nice and equipped with everything we needed, they looked more like the flats on the Esplanade in Pen and the beach was at the bottom of the the park and across the road. The camp facilities including Pub, Shop and restaurant were closed due to a fault with the coolers and so the nearest pub was up what we named Cardiac Hill....I kid you not. We were here for 2 days.....on the plus side we had Mam (Dorinda) with us and so she did all the cooking bless her. We had a mini party in their chalet that night it was a good laugh and it made me realise how much I love her and Pops (Byron) Fab people they are. Elaine's not that bad either hehe.
Only hindsight has 20/20 vision
Angiegram - A romantic notion derived from the more mundane truth.

Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley