19-Oct-97	Route Diagram
		Day 6
		Hope - Beacon Ring - Leighton Woods - Camlad Bridge - Brompton Hall - Mellington Hall - Cwm
		Route section	13.3 miles

Sunday morning dawned to reveal a thick fog in the Vale of Montgomery. Perhaps it would giveway to a day like yesterday and as we left at 09:20 there was a hint of sun on higher ground. We returned the short distance along the lane and found th stile which led us to Mr Jones' kale field - gratefully with a much wider path that the previous one.

Towards the top of the field, approaching the stile, we were almost out of the fog and the sun's red ball was in evidence. At the stile the sun's rays made a spider's web more prominent than the stile itself.

Ascending over several fields we were now in glorious sunshine above the mist level spread out all around us below; nothing visible but for a few hill tops. The morning felt good; rabbits and pheasants abounded and birds fleeing from hedgerows announced our arrival. On the top is Beacon Ring hill fort with its high single bank fortification.

One arrives at the fort through a thickly wooded fir plantation and then the path follows its western edge, The highest point is 1338' (408m); the fort is left near the towers of a television booster station.

The path drops away across fields to the south west before following a forest track through Philips' Gorse Wood until it turns into a metalled lane. Walking down this lane looking out in the distance onto "fog enveloped fir woods" reminded us of a visit made by a pair of our predecessors to the Savoie region of south-east France. Left onto the next lane, where we were back into the mist again, and then Leighton Woods gradually appeared.

Most of this land belongs to the Leighton Estate and dates from the time of John Naylor, a Liverpool banker, who took over the estate in 1849. He built a "Gothic" mansion and a new parish church

with a very tall spire supposedly visible for miles around but not visible in today's thick fog. The house had elaborate gardens and plantations on the adjoining slopes including a redwood grove, wellingtonias and monkey puzzle trees some of which we passed.

Particularly remarkable were the pioneer farming improvements, including elabvorate model buildings, many lit by gas from the estate's works and a complex system of water engineering. Offa's Pool and another pool passed on the OD Path formed part of the collecting system.

This drove a turbine for power-driven farm equipment and also produced liquid manure from bonemeal and guano to fertilise, as well as irrigate, the fields below.

The grounds were terribly atmospheric in the morning's conditions and there were many photo opportunities! One path was strewn with colourful sycamore leaves most of which contained "the black spots" which seemed to have attacked most of the sycamore trees along the OD route. Despite this, we were pleased and relieved to pass the lodge and its cattle grid at 11:15 and emerge onto a steep lane up which was struggling a youthful cyclist who acknowledged our "good morning" with a wry expression! The dyke was the right hand hedge of this steep lane at first and later "transferred" to the left. A quarter of an hour later we were at the foot of the hill sitting on the footstep of the stile we next needed - taking a coffee stop.

Arriving off the field path into Kingswood we met four hardy lads from Northampton who were doing the path in bits at weekends - for the second time. It was along the next unpleasant stretch of the B4388 that we felt unsure of the path's direction and returned to the crossroads at Kingswood only to find the OD signpost and to retrace steps.

After Forden the ever present mist thickened into fog again; the grass on the path, here little more than a raised bank, was heavily covered in dew and cobwebs. Lunch was taken at 12:45 on the end of the dyke where it fell away steeply as the sun was trying to break through.

Lunch over and the descent, we worked our way to the River Camlad where we made the mistake of thinking that the first footbridge we came to was the Camlad Bridge. This we found to be much wider - a

¼ mile further on - and looked to have been built at a much earlier date than 1985, the date on the narrower one. The route from Kingswood had been a gradual descent overall but now after the Camlad it was to change to a gradual ascent.

Just after 14:10 we made a phone call home to say we were "alive and kicking" and had to leave a message on the answerphone. The phone was replaced in the waistbag but not switched off and over the next hour, each time we climbed stiles there were beeps from the bag. It wasn't until later in the evening that we learned that someone had been very worried by the second two of the three recorded calls left on the answering machine: two separate calls which consisted of grunts, groans and heavy breathing!! We are now awaiting the bill - ready to contest it!!

After crossing the B4386 (Chirbury Road) and the first two fields, the route was almost dead straight for the three miles or more to Brompton crossroads. Passing the straight side of woodland to our right, the path was extremely narrow between the maize crop on the left and the overhanging nettles on the right. (Photo taken looking backwards)

Arriving at a farm road, we met Gerry who lived in Hope, Derbyshire. He was walking the OD Path northwards. He told us he'd done the southern section from Chepstow to Knighton with a friend three years ago but that sadly his friend had died eighteen months ago and now he was finishing the path off alone. As we finished talking and Gerry said farewell, the farmer turned up

to feed the animals. Once the feed was out still the animals didn't come and the farmer said that they hadn't noticed his different form of transport. He went off to fetch them and on seeing him, they readily came.

Between The Ditches and Brompton Hall Farms the dyke reappeared in the form of a fairly low raised bank. There were several fields of sheep which slowly moved away as we approached. Fog now had dispersed and the Sunday afternoon was extremely grey; yesterday's promise had not been fulfilled.

The A489 was crossed and we continued on the B4385 over the Caebitra river towards Mellington Hall. Passing through the gateway we stopped to look at the lights above it. The Hall's drive was left after 50 metres for the dyke on the right which ran for just under a mile on the edge of woodland where care had to be taken because of tree roots and more particularly rabbit burrows.

At 16:00 we had reached the end of the dyke path and dropped down the steps to the lane in Cwm where, as we were trying to "work out" the morning's directions to the B & B, we met two walkers. They came from Nottingham and Malvern and were nearing the end of their OD walk from Knighton to Brompton crossroads where transport would be waiting.

Not sure which way to go - there were three choices - we phoned and were given new instructions and we set off but the described house didn't appear and, having met Shaun and Ivan outside their house after returning from an afternoon ride with their mum, we carried on until a convenient gatepost "arrived".

We took refuge and rested. We were about to phone again despite some reluctance whan a car arrived and stopped. Yes, we'd been rescued after having been given directions as if we'd arrived in the village from the north! A five minute drive later (14:30) there was a very welcome cup of tea and a large piece of cake which helped disperse the earlier annoyance!

Walk Statistics
Day	Hr	Min	Mins	Miles	Ascent	Conversations	Photographs	Mins per mile	mph
6	7	10	430	14.5*	1325'	5	28	29.7	2.02
* Includes 1.2 m : wrong turning during day and wrong directions at Cwm.

B & B Details
	Sheila Griffiths, Shirley Heights, Cwm, Churchstoke, Montgomery, Powys Tel: 01588 620345
	B & B (En-suite) 20.00 Meal : Melon, Lasagne & Salad, Fruit Crumble & cream, orange segments in cointreau, coffee, bottle of red wine (shared) - very nice food! 8.00 Packed Lunch/flask of coffee 2.00 TOTAL   £30.00

TOP

1

2

3

4

5

7

8

9

10

11

12

---

© Scarpa - Page last updated 05/12/97