Day 35 - Montgomery to Four Crosses

Up bright and early with the birds and in Harry Tuffin's supermarket by 8.15! Another amazing shop and we managed the petrol offer easily ( but the van is pretty heavy now).The Walker was on his way from the centre of Montgomery by 9 and I was quietly munching a fruit teacake when a chap startled me peering through the van window. He apologised and said he was being nosy; he wants a new motorhome and liked the look of ours. I spent 20 mins giving him the sales pitch and he took away the firm's number. Commission, Duncan?

View from Montgomery Castle

Parked up in Welshpool and walked along the canal to meet The Walker. We were both interested in visiting the museum and heritage centre. We were about to go in when a miserable looking lady said that they closed for lunch in 5 mins. The family behind us turned back as well. Surely being open at lunch time is essential nowadays; she must lose a lot of custom. The bartender in the pub found it hard to raise a smile - if it hadn't been for the lovely ladies in the Tourist Info Office, I would have thought that everyone in Welshpool was miserable.

The Powis Arms had very jolly people - and they were at a funeral wake - they all wanted to tell me the best way to get to the canal to meet The Walker! And the two local teenagers I accosted outside the Spar in Four Crosses were very pleasant, though they obviously thought I was mad when I asked if there was any parking near the canal; one wasn't sure if there was a canal nearby 'til his mate put him right!

An odd day, meeting lots of different types of people but it made me think that being polite and pleasant, with a smile goes a long way! And it's free!

From Bernie:

Today's walk 17.4 miles : Cumulative 444.5 miles

Sounds as if my wife is becoming a little cranky......!

Had a couple of options this morning &, after spending half an hour or so wandering through the ruins of Montgomery Castle, headed west towards the Montgomery Canal. The only reason, really, was that I fancied a change from the cows, horses & sheep that I knew would be my companions if I returned to Offa's Dyke!

Signs like this throughout Powys: having walked all over Britain, I can't see them winning... but I see their point

What a change! Ducks with their young; fiercely defensive swans with, sometimes, quite large families; large, adult herons flapping serenely along the bank ahead of me; hundreds of fish - 3" to 8" in length, grey with occasional flecks of blue or red (I'm no expert!); thousands of bright blue dragonflies; goodness knows how many tadpoles; yellow flowers - the ones in the water I assumed to be water lilies, the ones on the bank were, I think, irises. What a difference a couple of hundred feet make!

12 cygnets in this family - I don't think I've ever seen so many

Highlight of the Day; lovely wooden sculptures along the length of the Montgomery Canal - I joined it at Garthmyl, its original terminus, & followed it all the way to Four Crosses. Fascinating information boards & a credit to the enthusiasts responsible for its restoration.

Beer of the Day: 'Solstice', brewed by Three Tuns Brewery at Bishop's Castle - they describe it as 'light & zesty', I'd add 'cloudy'. The barman told me that 'it clears' - it didn't & tasted distinctly ordinary.
Recommendation: don't bother with this one or 'The Royal Oak Hotel' in Welshpool!

Moan of the Day: owner of tonight's campsite warned he had 'quite a narrow bridge' for us to cross. Width was no problem but we scraped the bottom of the van trying to get over the hump! Finally reached the site through a ford from the opposite, more difficult to access, direction. 'Never had a problem,' he said. 'Just once with a bloke who was pulling a big caravan & had overloaded his Volvo' - he's only recently bought the site & I think he is going to have real problems.... !

To cap it all the oil light has lit up on the van! Great!

Do I sound cranky?!

Cranky couple photographed by a lovely young Italian woman at Pool Quay

Really looking forward to tomorrow & the old industrial sites around Llanymynech - I think we might fritter away the miles we have in hand! Let's hope the weather holds!