Day 32: Pandy to Hay-on-Wye

Special guests were in plentiful supply on today’s walk, as Nicola and Paul, as well as my friends Isaac and Laura, joined me this morning to start my climb over the Black Mountains. 

• Date: 21 April 2024
• Start: Pandy
• End: Hay-on-Wye
• Miles: 16.9
• Total miles: 389.2
• Accommodation: Radnors End Campsite

After leaving Nicola and Paul’s house with a clean set of clothes and boots, we headed back to where I left off in Pandy yesterday and met with Isaac and Laura to start the big ascent up the Black Mountains. 

The skies were grey today, but we still had great views of the surrounding area. We were also joined today by Mia, Astro and Luna, who climbed up quicker than I did. 

As we reached the first summit, I said goodbye to my guests as they turned back down the hill. Sadly, I couldn’t convince Isaac to be my Sherpa for the day. 

The objective today was simple, go up, go along, go down. It was actually pretty easy walking, but also a bit dull when you are walking across the top of a near flat mountain for 4 hours. The views were great though, and there were plenty of wild horses about. 

The descent finally came, which was also incredibly long, but I did see a cute lamb. 

I made it to Hay-on-Wye, famous for its bookshops, and there were a lot. 

I arrived at the campsite just out of town (one I’d been to before when I first walked Offa’s Dyke Path), and the lady who owned the site was so impressed with my challenge that she let me camp for free! There was a great view of the town as well. 

I thought I’d use the money saved to treat myself to a nice meal, but everything in Hay-on-Wye appears to be closed or not serving food on Sunday evenings. So it was a snacky tea from the local Spar. 

Tomorrow, I head to Kington…