19th August 2017 Blorenge

Today’s walk was decided upon by the view from The Sugar Loaf above Abergavenny. From the top a few weeks before we had seen a peak on the opposite side of the town. A quick map check revealed this to be Blorenge, possibly the only thing to rhyme with orange. Though I would argue that lozenge rhymes with said round fruit. Although Blorenge is a smaller peak than Sugar Loaf the route to the top is more direct and the car park is very much at the bottom. For the less adventurous there are two car parks on top of the hill, both free, accessible from the B4246. We parked in a free car park in Llanfoist. Be aware it gets very full on a weekend. Watch those wing mirrors.

The rather idyllic canal setting.

The walk starts on the opposite side of the road. It goes steeply up hill and passes under the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal. Recommend going up the stairs to have a look at the canal as it is a lovely tranquil little spot. Be aware if you have a dog that likes going in the water they won’t be able to get out on their own. I had to drag Chuck out by his harness and got drenched in the process. We ended up walking back along the canal so if you intend to do the same you can leave this bit for now. The route to the top goes under the canal through a stone built tunnel. The other side is private property apart from the path.

The tunnel underneath the canal.

The climb up is wooded which is good as it was hot day. Eventually the track breaks out into a field of ferns. A quick hop over a style leads to a track which circumnavigates the peak. We decided to take this track anti-clockwise as there isn’t really a path straight to the summit. Even though it isn’t the top it affords some spectacular views. Be aware there are sheep about but as long as you keep a good eye out you dog shouldn’t notice them as the ferns are too high. Chuck did get startled by a sheep on the side of the path which we missed but he couldn’t chase it through the thick ferns. Know your dog and act accordingly.

Abergavenny. Far away, not small.

There is a large pond next to the car park by the main road. We decided to cut the corner off here as Chuck had dried by now. We headed towards the two large masts just over the peak of the hill. From here you can pick up the track from the second car park that leads to the summit. At the top we met a lady who had a lovely little greyhound looking dog. He was a bit timid at first but he and Chuck were soon running around and chasing. The lady was just a few months from retirement and was looking forward to walking all the time. We both got our respective dog photos at the top and headed off the peak.

It was very windy up top. Check the bacon shaped wind sock.

The path continues down to a small hut. At this point we turned towards the south. My aim was to go around The Punchbowl. What I thought was The Punchbowl was actually a re-entrant much further away. Our path was actually much closer and after a little shortcut down a steep slope we were back on track. The path goes to the third and final carpark and into a small National Trust area. We didn’t actually go into The Punchbowl but took a track down to the road so we could walk back along the canal. Chuck hadn’t learned from his previous experience and got straight back in the water. He had a good long swim before I had to drag him out yet again. We got back tour initial crossing point and headed back down to the car.

Fern Britain. They're everywhere up here.

This is a great walk for the very fit. For the not so fit the car parks at the top allow you to still take in the view. Just remember to be careful of the canal if you are not able to fish out your dog. There really is no other way for them to get out. If they always make a beeline for the water and you can’t lift them, put them on a lead. We walked for about a mile along the towpath and there really is nowhere for them to get out. We’ve already spotted our next walk from the top so look out for a walk up to the top of Skirrid/Ysgyryd coming soon.

Is there anything better than a happy dog with a stick?

The Gloucestershire Way - Day 3

We awoke feeling much better and rested than we had the previous day. Our friends the cows were grazing around our tent having awoke earlier than us. There were also a few dog walkers out early up there too. Be aware of this if you stay here. Don’t go nonchalantly doing anything private outside your tent without checking for locals first. A casual admin period was followed by a much better packing of the tent than I had done the previous day. Festival going regular Bea knew far more about tents than me it seems. We set off downhill into a series of beautiful Gloucestershire hamlets and golden fields. This would be a good day, we thought.

Sorting out breakfast with an audience.

We planned on getting supplies and coffee in Huntley on the A40. Unfortunately the petrol station was closed at this time on a Sunday morning. No fear. Google showed a post office in the village. This was also closed. The pub was open for breakfast every day except Sunday. We were low on water and food and there was nowhere left between here and Gloucester. Oh dear. Thankfully we weren’t that far from Gloucester. It was just off the edge of the map but I’d checked before we left and it was just a case of following the River Severn for a couple of miles so it wasn’t too far surely?

Our friends on top of May Hill. 

We’d taken a slight detour getting into Huntley so we headed back towards our path. This was the beginning of a long journey across bullock filled fields. Lots of climbing fences and carrying a wiggly dog over them too. Every field seemed to be filled with cows that wanted to see if they were harder than us or not. It was a long morning of shouting and waving our arms to scare off the bullocks. Thankfully for the most part they left us alone once we scared them off but it was hot, we were tired and the adrenaline required was starting to take its toll. This went on for about an hour of slog. Eventually we hit the end of the fields. We passed through an orchard and hit the main road again. We finally caught sight of the River Severn. It would be a nice easy stroll from here wouldn’t it?

When it was still fun.

No. It turns out we were still many hours from Gloucester without water. And also we had not had our last encounter with angry bovines. In fact the angriest were yet to come. The river just seemed to wind and meander endlessly. We could see Gloucester cathedral on our left, then right, then behind and then in front again. It was not getting any closer. Every field looked the same. If I’m being honest this section was boring. I may have appreciated more if I was fresh perhaps. It wouldn’t stay boring for long though. We entered a field with what looked like three cows in it. We stayed low behind a bank so they couldn’t see us but unfortunately their ‘cow sense’ tingled and they spotted us.

It was a beautiful morning.

They made a beeline straight for us. We held them off up into the next field in which there must have been fifty bullocks! They repeatedly made charges towards us. We picked up a stick each and started waving at them. They were getting closer and closer to us as they gained confidence. To add insult to injury the fence at the other end had barbed wire across it so we had to find a gap to climb over whilst fending off bullock attacks. It’s quite scary having about twenty five tons of angry beef charging at you especially when you’re tired, frustrated and dehydrated. This was the worst lot of bullocks but there were more and we were quite rightly fed up that Gloucester was not getting any closer.

Our final glimpse of civilisation before Gloucester.

After what seemed like an age we finally spied our crossing in the distance. It went under the rail bridge and up onto the dual carriage-way. There was someone parked in the middle of the path up there having just had a crash. The police were on the scene. It was a good reminder that there’s always someone having a worse day than you. We had mad civilisation. I promised Bea she would not see another cow until we were on the train. However the path did not go towards civilisation. It cut through more fields. And lo and behold, another cow! However it was just one and it was very docile but I had broken my promise.

The River Severn. We got sick of the sight of it. And cows.

The path came out at a busy intersection of the A417 and A430. There is an underpass and then….civilisation, well Gloucester, which is close enough. We went straight in to the petrol station at the bottom of the hill and bought everything, water, ice cream, fizzy pop, the lot. We waddled into town and stopped just shy of the Cathedral in a pub called The Dick Whittington Pub which I think was quite appropriate. We had two big plates of ribs and chips. They didn’t usually do ribs on a Sunday but they very kindly made them for us anyway which was great. We thought we’d feel super victorious at this point but we were just glad it was over to be fair. Chuck fell unconscious on the pub floor.

Looking suitably tired after three days on our feet. Us 1 vs Cows 0.

We limped to the Cathedral and had an obligatory selfie. It isn’t that good but we just couldn’t be bothered and we had a train to catch. At the station we had our first coffee of the day and waited for the train. We decided to take a taxi back from the station to home as we could not be bothered to walk another step. It was great pointing out all the things we had seen from the train. Now we knew it was definitely all over we could finally reflect on how good we felt about having completed this self-imposed challenge. The brief had been to stick to the Gloucestershire Way as much as possible which we had done in a fashion but it had proved impossible without bringing a three day supply of food and water. I think to sum everything we learned from this trip is too much to fill a concluding paragraph so a full blog will ensue about what to do and what not to do from our experiences. At some points I think the ‘what not to do’ should have included this walk! But I’m certainly glad we did it now. Roll on the next challenge.