BUDGETING
Your budget will depend largely on the type of accommodation you use and your eating habits. If you camp and cook your own meals you will be able to keep costs to a minimum. These escalate as you go up the accommodation and dining scales and will also be affected by the extent to which you use the services offered to guests, such as transportation of luggage, packed lunches and other refinements.
Camping
You can get by on as little as £8-10 per person per night, pitching your tent at official sites and where B&Bs allow camping in their garden or land and cooking your own food. Typically, camping costs from £2.50 to £5 per person, sometimes plus an extra £1 for the use of a shower.
Most walkers will find it hard to live that frugally and will indulge in the occasional cooked breakfast when it’s offered (from around £5), the odd pint of beer (around £2.20) and a pub meal after a long hard day (£7-10). It’s probably more realistic to budget on at least £12-15 per day.
Hostels
The YHA has price bands for their hostels, from A (the most expensive) to F. Hostels along the Dyke are rated C or F, with accommodation in these quoted from £9.95 or £11.95. The reality is rather different since actual prices will depend on the season and the type of room and can be as high as £17.50. Typically, though, rates in the summer season are about £2 higher than the base rate. Where youth hostels offer catering, you can expect to pay around £8.40/6.15 adult/child for an evening meal; £4.20/2.45 for breakfast and £4.80/3.80 for a packed lunch.
B&Bs
You should allow £25-35 per head for an overnight stay and breakfast plus a further £10-16 for an evening meal. If you include a packed lunch as well you won’t be far wrong on £40-55 per person per day. These figures assume double occupancy, though. If you’re travelling alone you will almost certainly be charged a supplement of £5-15 for single occupancy, unless the B&B has single rooms.
Extras
Don’t forget to set some money aside for the inevitable extras, such as batteries, postcards, buses, taxis, drinks, snacks, phone calls and entrance fees or, rather more crucially, any changes of plan. Around £50-100 should be about right.
WHEN TO GO
Seasons
The months when the weather is less likely to be inclement are May to September, although April and October often bring days that are bright and breezy when the walking and the surroundings are at their best. Typically, the seasons are likely to present the following conditions:
Spring
The weather in spring is as unpredictable as the rest of the year. In April, it can be warm and sunny on odd days, but seldom for sustained periods. Although the spring of 2007 upset all the record books, conditions are more likely to be changeable, with blustery showers and cold spells reminding you that winter has only just passed. On the other hand, less rain falls on average in spring than at any other time of the year. This, coupled with the milder weather of May and June, and the proliferation of wild flowers early in the year, makes it one of the best times to tackle the trail.
Summer
July and August are the traditional holiday months and the conditions are usually good for walking with a greater likelihood of long periods of warm settled weather and many hours of daylight. Unlike many parts of Britain the Border Country is not afflicted by mass tourism. Thankfully there’s no need to worry about crowds apart from when passing through the tourist hotspots of Prestatyn, Hay-on-Wye and Llangollen. You can lord it over the daytrippers with your rucksack and big boots: let them look and wonder. Once you’re back out among the fields and hills you can leave the hordes behind.
Autumn
Late September and October are a good time to get out on the trail to appreciate tsssssshe full benefit of the autumn colours in the woodland and the leaves underfoot. Although the air temperature should remain relatively mild, October can see the first frosts and rain is an ever-present threat, intensifying as the year draws to its close. Nevertheless, many connoisseurs consider autumn, especially early autumn, the best time of year for walking.
Winter
Only the hardiest of souls will attempt the walk in winter. Once the days have shortened you will want to be at your day’s end by 4-5pm. Colder days, wind and driving rain are not the best accompaniment for a good day on the path although you can hit lulls when the sun comes out and you imagine things are improving. Some winters see continuous rain for several months with severe flooding when parts of the path become impassable.
DAYLIGHT HOURS
If walking in autumn, winter and early spring, you must take account of how far you can walk in the available daylight. It will not be possible to cover as many miles or be out for as long as you would in the summer.
The table opposite gives the sunrise and sunset times for the middle of each month at latitude 52 degrees North which runs through Wales, giving a reasonably accurate picture for daylight for the Offa’s Dyke Path. Depending on the weather, you should get a further 30-45 minutes of usable light before sunrise and after sunset.
ANNUAL EVENTS
The following events may need to be considered when planning your walk:
Hay Festival of Literature, Hay-on-Wye
Last week in May. The famous book and literary festival (www.hayfestival.com) with talks and readings all week from top names in the world of writing. It is one of the few opportunities for readers to meet their favourite authors and the town’s streets are thronged with visitors although the events themselves are held in a series of marquees set up outside the town. Naturally enough every available room is booked months ahead. You should either book very far in advance or avoid this week altogether.
International Musical Eisteddfod, Llangollen
First or second week in July. This is a major festival of music and the performing arts to which groups and individuals come from all over the world. Accommodation in the town and surrounding area is booked solid for the whole week. For further information see www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk; see also p102.
Royal Welsh Show, Builth Wells
Last week in July. A big date in the farming calendar for the whole of mid and south Wales, attracting visitors and competitors from a huge area. The show (www.rwas.co.uk) makes severe demands on local accommodation so it would be best to avoid this week if possible. Kington and Hay-on-Wye are the two centres on the path most likely to be affected.
Knighton Show
Last Saturday in August. An important day for the local community but likely to put pressure on accommodation and pubs for the one day only. Call 01547-529424 for details.
ITINERARIES
All walkers are individuals. Some like to cover large distances as quickly as possible. Others are happy to amble along, stopping whenever the whim takes them. You may want to walk the Offa’s Dyke Path in one go, tackle it in a series of days or weekends, or use the trail for a series of linear day walks; the choice is yours.
To accommodate these different options, this guide has not been divided up into strict daily sections, which could impose too rigid a structure on how you should walk. Instead it has been devised for you to plan an itinerary that suits you.
The planning map opposite the inside back cover and table of facilities overleaf summarize the essential information for you to make a plan. Alternatively, to make it even easier, have a look at the suggested itineraries (see box p32) and simply choose your preferred speed of walking. There are also suggestions on p33 for those who want to experience the best of the trail over a day or a weekend. The public transport map and table (pp44-7) may also help.
Having made a rough plan, turn to Part 4 where you will find summaries of the route, full descriptions of accommodation, places to eat and other services in each town and village, with detailed trail maps.
WHICH DIRECTION?
Most guidebooks to the path assume you will walk from south to north but there is no particularly good reason to do this, apart from the slightly spurious view that it is easier with the sun and prevailing wind at your back. There is in fact a good reason for walking the path in the opposite direction, from north to south, namely that the route, without doubt, improves in quality as you move south. This provides a great incentive to spur you ever onward. As you progress south you will get fitter and should be in good fettle by the time you have to tackle the Switchbacks and the Black Mountains. This direction of travel has been followed in the layout of this book.
But there are good reasons to walk in the other direction, too, and many will chose to do so, especially if walking only part of the route. The (cont’d on p32) (cont’d from p29) maps in Part 4 give timings for both directions and, as route-finding instructions are on the maps rather than in the text, it is perfectly straightforward to walk from south to north using this guide.
SUGGESTED ITINERARIES
The itineraries in the box below are suggestions only and should be adapted to suit your own preferences. Don’t forget to add the travelling time before and after the walk, and to allow additional time for photography and meal breaks or simply to stop and stare. And while you’re agonizing over your own itinerary, spare a thought for two (fool)hardy men who, in April 2007, ran the whole path in just six days in aid of the Ian Rennie Hospice in Hertfordshire. Well done, guys!
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