The route guide and maps have not been divided into rigid daily stages since people walk at different speeds and have different interests. Some sections fall naturally into full days such as Knighton to Kington but more often the choice is up to the walker.
The route summaries below describe the trail between significant places and are written as if walking the path from north to south. To enable you to plan your own itinerary practical information is presented clearly on theio trail maps. This includes walking times, places to stay, camp and eat, as well as shops where you can buy supplies. Further service details are given in the text under the entry for each place. For an overview of this information, see pp30-1.
TRAIL MAPS
Scale and walking times
The trail maps are to a scale of 1:20,000 (1cm = 200m; 31/8 inches = one mile). Walking times are given along the side of each map and the arrow shows the direction to which the time refers. Black triangles indicate the points between which the times have been taken. See note below on walking times.
The time-bars are a tool and are not there to judge your walking ability. There are so many variables that affect walking speed, from the weather conditions to how many beers you drank the previous evening. After the first hour or two of walking you will be able to see how your speed relates to the timings on the maps.
Up or down?
The trail is shown as a dotted line – – –. An arrow across the trail indicates the slope; two arrows show that it is steep. Note that the arrow points towards the higher part of the trail. If, for example, you are walking from A (at 80m) to B (at 200m) and the trail between the two is short and steep it would be shown thus: A – – – >> – – – B. Reversed arrow heads indicate downward gradient.
Accommodation
Accommodation marked on the map is either on or within easy reach of the trail. It is normal for B&B proprietors to collect walkers from the nearest point on the trail and deliver them back again next morning. Details of each place are given in the accompanying text. Unless otherwise specified, B&B rates are per person (/pp) in the summer high season, assuming two people sharing a room. The number of rooms of each type is given after each entry: S=Single, T=Twin room, D=Double room, F=Family room (sleeps at least three people).
Other features
Features are marked on the map when pertinent to navigation. In order to avoid cluttering the maps and making them unusable, not all features have been marked each time they occur.
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