Day 31: Monmouth to Pandy

An absolutely glorious day of walking! The sun was out and lots of people were walking. Day two of the Offa’s Dyke Path is complete. 

• Date: 20 April 2024
• Start: Monmouth
• End: Pandy
• Miles: 15.7
• Total miles: 372.3
• Accommodation: Nicola and Paul’s House

It was cold last night, but not painfully cold. I did wake up to a frost though at the campsite. A quick walk to Waitrose to grab my lunch soon warmed me up though. It was sunny from the off this morning, with even a hot air balloon flying over. 

I left Monmouth up a steady hill through a wood. It being a Saturday, there’s plenty of people about, meaning plenty of questions. My number one question today was, ‘Are you heading to Prestatyn?’, the end of the Offa’s Dyke Path. Well yes I am, but I’m going on a little detour to John O’Groats. 

One man told me he’d completed Offa’s Dyke Path in 22 hours previously. An impressive achievement I told him, and asked him how he did it so quickly. As part of a relay team he completed it. So, he didn’t really do it in 22 hours did he…

I left the woods and walked long a river for a bit. I then saw a sign that warned that the field was particularly muddy and that I should follow the road around. Given it’s been sunny, I thought the sign was probably a bit old and it should have dried up by now. I was wrong. For the second day running, I had a soggy bottom again after hitting the ground hard. 

There was a lot of farmland to navigate today, but fortunately no cows in sight, just sheep. 

I made it to my lunch stop, which was an old castle, the White Castle (not white). 

Only a few more miles to go until I reached Pandy, and one final big hill. At the top, I spotted one of these boxes, which I also saw yesterday. Inside they have stamps for you to stamp away your progress. I didn’t bother stamping anything, other than my feet on the ground. 

I then walked the descent into Pandy, where I had great views of the Black Mountains I’d be walking over tomorrow, and headed to the pub where I met with Nicola and Paul, parents of my friend Sophie (a different Sophie to the one whose parents I stayed with last week). The beer garden was busy, so while I waited, I thought why not join them and have an outdoor beer. 

We then drove to Nicola and Paul’s house, where I was treated to a lovely beef stew and crumble. I then put my feet up and watched TV for the rest of the night.