Knucklas to Kington. 17.09 miles, 3,235 ft of elevation, 41,466 steps
Looking at the stats today looks very similar to yesterday but it felt much easier. Perhaps it was because I had company, or maybe the hills were a bit easier.
We left Knucklas and the Castle Inn via the rather impressive viaduct and hit a hill almost immediately.
It was a misty day and so the views unfortunately weren’t as dramatic and far reaching as yesterday but it was none the less a very pleasant walk. The Dyke was very evident almost all day and there was even some information on its construction
Halfway through the days walk, I met my first fellow long distance walker. John is doing it the other way South to North and has his wife following in a campervan. Now that’s dedication!!! He will be finishing in Scotland mid November which will be tough but at least the days will be short!
As we made such good progress we got to Kington at about 3:30pm. We decided it would be a good idea to do a pub crawl and here is our feedback:
1. The Queens – properly rough, with the resident drunk couple watching the football scores. Very friendly barman (fellow Arsenal fan for Mat). The sign in the pub toilet says it all ….
2. The Oxfordshire – dark, musty, no atmosphere and full of old men not talking – felt like an old fashioned train station waiting room. We had our first food since breakfast – cheese and onion crisps
3. the Vault – tiny pub, full of locals that treated the place like their living room. Lovely atmosphere and we stayed for two! Second packet of crisps here
4. The Burton – friendly bit felt like an old people’s home with vast corridors and swathes of red pile carpet. We mentioned the Vault and they all seemed scared….
5. The Swan – poshest of the lot and very busy.
6. The Royal Oak – this is where we are staying and was to be our final destination and dinner venue – recommended by the local butcher. However their chef was away so were not serving food
7. Back to the Swan just before they took last orders for food. I can’t remember what we ate but looks like Mat enjoyed it…..
John enjoyed meeting you today, John! We will be following you as you finish, a bit sooner than we do… also will steal some of your route! John’s walk is on http://www.johnswalkforfreedom.co.uk if you want to see his progress? Maybe you should come and visit us after it’s all over on the Isle of Man… Best wishes Fiona (the wife in the camper van….)
Fiona – it was great to see John in the path, a strange feeling of kinship. He seems to be going well and eating up the miles. I will respond to your email with some comments about the route. Thanks, John