I'm sitting in newport station with an hour or so to spare before my train to wrexham. Caldicot is already a distant bad memory, which i can now erase because it had nothing to do with offa's dyke. I thought, for the benefit of anyone i know who might be thinking of doing a long distance walk, or anyone who might (God forbid) stumble upon this site while googling, i'd provide some further information, recommendations and tips, some useful, some useless and some simply self-indulgent. Please note that they are personal opinions not necessarily held by everyone (or anyone) else. 1. Long distance walking is fantastic. The only times i haven't got any keys on me are when i'm long distance walking or if i've lost them. It's the best way i know of getting away from it all because there is absolutely nothing to worry about (except the next call from carphone warehouse). The days seem to go on forever, in a nice way, and you spend ridiculously long amounts of time studying trivial things like gate latches, which suddenly become fascinating. 2. There are more types of gate latch than you can possibly imagine. The one in the picture was my favourite. An incredibly complicated way of opening a gate. The significant point here (yes, there is one!) is that the one criticism often levelled at the offa's dyke path is that there are too many stiles, which are a pain, especially with a pack. Well that is gradually being remedied. There are now very few stiles south of Kington, gates having been put in instead, and i suspect this will continue north in the future, hopefully with even more as yet uninvented gate latches. 3. When is a dyke not a dyke? The dyke, as i mentioned in an earlier post, 'got me'. I became obsessed with it, "ooh there it is again! The lump with the hole next to it." I suppose you had to be there really. However i have some issues with its authenticity at times. I have been assured by the historical texts i have read that king offa had it built from chirk south to Kington. I was happy with that until i came to a section of the walk yesterday owned by english heritage. They claimed it was a two mile stretch of offa's dyke. Yes there was a lump. Yes there was a hole. Then the dyke suddenly reappeared again in the last 50 yards of the walk. Surely king offa can't be given credit for every ditch in the uk. This last bit could be anybody's dyke. It could be kevin's dyke for all i know. 4. Ignore weather forecasts. Watch them first though, so you know what you're ignoring. I had hardly any rain at all, compared to what i was told i was going to get. 5. Cloud is good. A contentious issue with non-walkers this one, but when you're carrying a pack (and i suspect mine was no more than 15 kilos) sunny weather is hard work. Consequently walking in britain is usually great, unless it rains all the time. 6. Be prepared. I'm sure someone said this before me. If it does rain then you need to stay dry, which simply means a good waterproof jacket, waterproof trousers, a waterproof rucksack cover and the best boots you can afford. I can't stress the last one enough. On a long distance walk huge amounts of you will hurt early on (but in a nice way!). This will soon pass. However if your feet hurt at the start it will not pass at all. I am yet to have a walking blister, and i'm convinced that the reason for this is spending time putting socks (two pairs for me) and boots on, then doing everything possible to keep them dry. I always wear leather boots for long walks. Heavy, yes. Waterproof, yes. 7. Water, beer and coffee are all essential. The first for obvious reasons. I carried two and a half litres on the days of this walk with no refreshments on the path. I tended to jettison some towards the end if I didn't think I'd need it (after all a litre weighs a kilo). Coffee gives you just the kick you need at the start of the day, and at any other point you can get it on the way. I've drunk masses of the stuff, all caffeinated. I'm even more addicted now than i was before. I'll be hanging round the back alleys of mold next week, trying to score some full flavour colombian blend. Beer, on the other hand, i was determined to avoid at all costs, honest guv! As it turns out this is simply not possible. Offa's dyke is a 50 pint walk. I challenge any beer drinker to do it on less (4 a day for 12 days, plus 2 bonus pints when you've been really good). The stop off pint is the best, though it changes your mindset from 'where's the next viewpoint?' to 'where's the next pub?'. I must admit though it does go against the grain when it comes to getting healthy. 8. Long distance walking makes you healthy. I can now safely describe myself as fit but... I can't say i've lost much weight, though jennie said i had. I have put this down mainly to the following factors: beer, bacon, sausages, fried eggs, crisps and chocolate. In other words if you want to go for the total health experience, camp. 9. To be continued...
