18-Oct-97	Route Diagram
		Day 5
		Carreg y Big - Owestry Racecourse - Trefonen - Llanymynech - Derwas Bridge - Pool Quay - Buttington - Hope
		Route section	23.0 miles

The alarm woke us early and we breakfasted at 06:50. There is an Equestrian Centre at the farm and horses to feed so people rise early! We were shown the Centre's facilities just after 07:30 : 250 acres, indoor and outdoor arenas, cross country course and the dyke runs right through the middle of it! By 07:45 we were on the road.

It was a sharp, foggy morning but the mist was beginning to lift. The dyke was clearly visible in the field to our right as we walked the road and twelve minutes later we were on the top of Baker's Hill looking back to the farm. We walked passed the communication mast now present at most underground reservoirs operated by Severn-Trent.

We were setting ourselves a brisk pace with the knowledge that it was going to be a long but fine day. The sun was rising in the form of a large red ball and was shining strongly through the woodland on our left on the hill's summit. We began the road descent towards the B4580 and crossed over; no traffic.

Leaving the road in a southerly direction along a grassy track, we were back in very thick mist. We passed some isolated houses on our right and a few men walking their dogs. We were on the Old Oswestry Racecourse approaching the site of the former grandstand at 08:15; thanks to the Oswestry Rotary Club there is a toposcope on its ruins. To the south one might have seen Caer Caradoc, the Long Mynd and The Stiperstones - all about 25 miles away and we couldn't see more than ¼ mile! To the west - 35 miles away should have been Plymlymon and Cader Idris. The descent through the woodland was glorious; downhill, dyke to the left with the sun shining through the trees ocassionally and leaves beginning to start their autumnal turn. We were looking out for the stone grottos/seats built into the side

of the dyke and were surprised to find a walker ascending the path so early (08:37). He turned out to be David Rogers from Bristol who was walking the OD Path both ways at the same time - by walking sections of the dyke at weekends/holidays in both directions. He said he'd been walking for ten minutes and that he planned to walk 12½ miles or thereabouts and then walk back but when we made contact on our return we discovered he'd walked a total of 30 miles that day.[We have since learned that he finished the path on 30.10.97;congratulatuions!]

Setting off again down through Candy Woods we soon came to the seat built into a rocky outcrop; this was quickly followed by another. Here the woodland sloped away steeply to the west on our right.

This early morning woodland descent was one of the walks' high spots; the sunshine, the early autumnal conditions and the wooded hillside itself combined to afford many moments of "pausing to look/appreciate" and of "which shot to take"; we're very pleased to have taken this one!

Leaving the woodland, one is at the foot of the Morda Valley at Tyn-y-Coed where a former mill has been restored as an inn appropriately called Old Mill Inn. Outside we met Alan, an employee of the Borough of Oswestry; its Housing Department was undergoing a housing survey fortnight and he was one of the team staying at the inn. "Food is out of this world," he said. "Had venison last night." He was getting ready to make an early start and to try and catch those people in who he'd missed earlier in the week. The climb up out of the valley was steep and having crossed the road which runs parallel to the valley, we rested a while on the stile at the edge of the next field. Heading off first along level ground and then downhill slightly, we were making our way to Trefonen. At about the point where the dyke petered out, probably ploughed up, we made our first route mistake of the day. We'd been looking for the stile mentioned in the OD Route Notes : "head ½R across down to massive stile at bottom of field in line with farm." We could see the farm but the field in front of us was laid out in readiness for a farm sale and at the time we didn't realise that the stile was hidded by farm implements or that the sale was to take place at 11:30 that morning. Suffice to say we wandered almost aimlessly around the field for a few minutes to our left looking for ????? before crossing the correct field selecting one of the quad bikes up for sale which would have helped us on our way to Hope!!

Climbing clumbsily over the aforementioned huge stile, (made from railway sleepers) we approached the back of a catering van. "Set Menu - Take 2" - Caterers to the TV and Film Industry [0161 928 7055]

Here at 09:30 we acquired a welcome free cup of tea (by virtue of the fact that the water hadn't yet boiled and a small pan was put on specially) and a piece of brack (thanks to this internet posting!) Thank you all [Robert (5), Mark (9), Mum & Nan] very much! The cake was appreciated and the tea extremely welcome. During conversation, we discovered that they had two static refreshment sites on the A5 in addition to this mobile van.

We also discovered talking to the farmer that the sale was forced by the farm's financial position and by his decision to change the mode of farming from cattle to sheep.

We quickly made our way through Trefonen with residents going about their business welcoming the sunny weather. The next part of the route out of the village took us passed Ty Canol Farm after which it was mainly uphill onto Moelydd.

Moelydd, at 934' (285 m), is one of the most extensive viewpoints on the whole of the OD Path with 30 mile views in every direction but north and the summit is marked with an iron memorial flagpole. Our views were extensive but over the fog pervading the valleys below.

10:30 brought rest and a coffee stop on the summit before dropping down through Jones' Rough Woodland on the southern slope of the hill which is an 8 acre (3.2 hectare) reserve of the Shropshire Trust for Nature Conservation and has yew, hazel, spruce, larch, orchids and stinking hellebore. After the woodland there is a fairly steep descent across two fields down to the former mining village of Nantmawr. Walking through the village and passing the Old School House particularly we commented on the fine steeply terraced garden to the occupant who remarked " ... passed its best , just like me", meaning him!

Cobwebs abounded along the right-hand side of the narrow lane leading towards Porth-y-waen where we met a spread out group of lads from the West Central School in West Kirby, Yorkshire. Three of the lads were "doing" their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award and the other three the Bronze Award. In close attendance was their staff member.

After crossing the A495 in Porth-y-waen one takes a narrow path between houses which drops down to fields south of the village. Negotiating this narrow path and concentrating on nettles, etc we were suddendly surprised by the barking of a black labrador high above us on a balcony over the house extension. It did make us jump! There was a stiff, steep climb up onto Llanymynech Hill (226m 741') which has several old limestone quarries as well as today's golf course. The Romans mined copper and silver on this hill and burial remains and finds of coins and pottery suggest that miners lived in man-made caves on the slopes of the hill.

After skirting the golf course we met two parties within minutes; there was a family from Tarporley on the Cheshire Plain and a couple of OD walkers from West Kirby doing a section of the path. They had met David,

who we had met before 09:00, on a section further south earlier in the year and they commented on his long stride! Coming off the hill we came across a small gate with sunlight making the cobweb odorning it stand out superbly. We descended into Llanymynech. Here the original OD route stayed on the main road to Four Crosses - a busy unpleasant 1¼ mile road but the new route uses the Montgomery Canal towpath and is a mile longer. Before joining the canal route, we walked into the village to find a sunny seat in front of the spired church. By 14:02 we had reached Four Crosses and went to the local garage in search of an ice cream. Minutes later we were crossing the old station yard which is now a servicing garage for milk collecting tankers. The next farm would have been best avoided but was unavoidable; so was the slurry/mud almost ankle deep alongside Gornel Farm and its silage pit!

Soon though we were on the broad spread of the dyke with damp grass getting to work once again. Although very hazy ahead, we could just pick out the communications station masts with the Breidden Hills behind. Coming towards us along the wide dyke amongst cows and trees were four people.

One lost his footing in a large hole and made us tread more carefully looking more at the ground than them approaching! The group hailed from Liverpool and the Lake District and had completed two parts of the OD Path five years previously and were now tackling the third stretch. Walking this afternoon was certainly warm work.

So was vehicle servicing! Neil was steam-cleaning a chassis and Trevor was working on a wheel bearing. They work their tipper lorries carrying stone and gravel from Oswestry. Stopping briefly to chat they were surprised by the photographing walker!

Walking was easy along this flat terrain despite the warmth of the afternoon as the hills came gradually closer but every so often we found ourselves walking along another of the quite enclosed sections of the low-lying dyke.

Out into open country again the dyke was really a raised drainage protection bank running towards the New Cut drainage channel. Nearing Trederwen we headed for the Derwas Bridge across this channel and within minutes we were alongside the River Severn - time 15:30.

There was now a 3½ mile section of raised protection alongside the Severn before the A483 was met at Pool Quay. That afternoon it was remembered for its length, for the afternoon's warmth, for our "game" of estimating how close and later how far away we were from the communication masts, for the swans taking off from the river, for more cobwebs and - again - for its length!

After we caught up and overtook Jean (who lived locally and was out walking her dog Gruner), we entering a part of the river bank entirely covered in cobwebs. The sight against the low, late afternoon sun was wonderful but we were travelling blind!!

Late in the afternoon (16:37), groups of swans were taking off from the river and turning to fly noisily southwards.

Towards the end of this long section of river path, the raised earthbank swung round to the right heading for the disused Oswestry-Welshpool railway track with the abutmments of the former railway bridge visible on each river bank. After the line was crossed, there was one further field on the embankment.

Lasting impressions of this part of the route were of a placid river with a pair of resting swans and one man's contentment; he was quite unaware of our prescence.

After crossing the A483 at Pool Quay, we followed the eastern bank of the Shropshire Union Canal for 1½ miles before re-crossing the road and taking field paths which returned us once more to the River Severn. 17:45 and we were presented with a problem : the field path ended with a stile onto private property; on each side of the stile was a kennel complete with chained dog. Each dog barking fiercely, we judged, could possibly reach a leg! What to do?

Despite being armed with a walking stick, we stayed put and let both bark away until someone appeared! Sure enough, out came Ray. "They won't harm you", he said, "they're friendly!" and with a little loving handling looked after both and calmed them while we crosssed over.

Moving away from them we asked for a water refill as we'd finished our liquid refreshment in the last field and we still had an estimated hour's walking - some of it uphill. This was fetched and was very gratefully received. We said farewell - "safe" in the knowledge that one of the dogs was trained to attack on command! Turning left onto the A458 we crossed the river before turning off right into a small field which took us up to the railway line. We were in Buttington and heading now for the Offa's Dyke Business Park after which we'd find our next path.

This led us across fields to terrain which began to ascend. The evening was drawing in now. Looking back downhill after crossing a field a sheep, the sky held out the promise of another fine day.

At 18:24 we came across a dwelling and Margaret who was out on the path having looked at her sheep. She confirmed the direction of the path in the twilight which was to take us up through a field of kale. The long day certainly had a sting in its tail for the field was steep and the pathway hadn't been

"brushed" and the leaves, damp with the evening's moisture, brushed against us with each step! By the top of the field we were quite wet but relieved at finding an extra sign on the top bar of the stile onto the lane. BUTTINGTON VIEW 250 YDS LEFT. Minutes later (16:45), having walked a little way "off the OD path" we were sitting drinking tea and eating cake in the living room of Mr & Mrs Jones - in the company of Butch the dog and Dumper the cat!

Walk Statistics
Day	Hr	Min	Mins	Miles	Ascent	Conversations	Photographs	Mins per mile	mph
5	11	0	660	23.0	1550'	13	36	28.7	2.09

B & B Details
	Mrs Doreen Jones, Buttington View, Hope, Nr. Welshpool, Powys, SY21 8JD Tel: 01938 552295
	A wise choice; excellent welcome : "make yourself at home and use what you want/find in the bathroom". B & B 16.00 Meal : Celery & Stilton soup / breaded fish, lovely boiled potatoes, string beans, carrot/swede, cabbage / cider to drink / fruit crumble & cream / coffee   - really lovely food! 7.50 Packed Lunch/flask of coffee 2.50 salmon sandwiches, cheese cracker with home-made chutney, cake - all beautifully wrapped, orange, apple and chocolate biscuit   TOTAL   £26.00

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© Scarpa - Page last updated 05/12/97