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Onwards and upwards up Offas Dyke for another 6 miles
today - I had to be in Ludlow for an auction at around 9.00 - 9.30am so
an early start was called for. It was a 4.00am rise and on the walk for
5.30am. The route today was of lovely rolling
hills with green fields. It had been dry for at least a week so
underfoot was quite firm and my boots were still dry at the end of the
walk. I was on the move 45 minutes before sun-up so the dawn chorus was
in full swing. it was one of those perfect days, the lambs gamboled in
the fields, there was a crescent moon smiling down on the mountain tops
and the sun when it came up rose majestically in a cloudless sky. There
was a massive mist patch on the horizon that lay heavily on the
mountains in the distance and that's where it stayed. Happy
days.
Time was of the essence so only the peeking of the 6.18 sunrise was witnessed on Furrow Hill near the
delightfully named Dolley Green before I moved on, I'd given myself a
7.45 cut off point at the village of Rhos-y-Meirch to turn back early
otherwise I would plough on to Knighton.
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| End of the last walk and start of
this one. |
The ascent to Furrow Hill |
Rolling Hills |
Rolling Hills |
The dyke |
There were a couple of questions on route
that needed answering like .......
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WHY DOES THE TREE BEND ?
I think the prevailing wind blows from right to left which
has angled the trunk to the left permanently and the leaves are
reaching to the sun so it's dragging the tree back towards the
left. But I may be wrong.
If you think I'm wrong please send your answers on a postcard
to.
BENDY TREE COMPETITION
FURROW HILL
Nr DOLLEY GREEN
POWYS
LL11 1BT
All correct answers will be put into a sack and the winning
entry will be drawn by Santa Claus at midnight on Christmas Eve.
The winning entry will receive several pats on the back from
Santa's little helpers. |
and........ What's that thing sticking up over there
?.......
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| That my friends in the Sir Richard
Green Price Monument.
Sir Richard Green Price was a member of parliament, landower
and businessman. He is probably best know for bring the railway
to the old county of Radnorshire.
He was born Richard Green at Madley in Herefordshire and trained as a solicitor
before moving to work in Knighton. He saw the poor conditions the working people were living in and
vowed to help improve them.
He earned the respect of local men of influence and was made Chairman of the Board of Health, which tried to combat disease and infection. He was also County Treasurer for Radnorshire.
He lived with his family at The Cottage in Knighton but his wife died after 5 years of marriage and he re-married in 1844. In all he was father to 15 children, 3 of whom died in childhood.
In 1861 he inherited Norton Manor from his uncle Richard Price
and in his honour he changed his name to Richard Green Price.
He realised the importance of the new railways and invested his money in them, working hard to bring them to Radnorshire. He bought Rock House on the edge of Llandrindod Common, and was involved in developing the new town there.
He worked tirelessly and built up an estate of 9000 acres which earned him £7000 a year in rents from his tenants. This made him a rich man in Victorian times. He became an MP in 1863, and after years of service in Parliament was made a baronet by the Prime Minister.
He was made a Justice of the Peace and was the Sheriff for Radnorshire in 1876
He organised the restoration of Norton Church, and built a new school at Norton and comfortable new cottages for his estate workers. He was very active in the area and fought an election at the age of 83. He died a year later in 1887. |
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I made it to Knighton just before
7.45am and proceeded to make my way back to the car via the road. The
thumb was working well with a lot of people on their way to work, most
with their noses in the air except for Jim. And it's a big
thank you to Jim the Argentinian Tango Dancer from Knighton in his
orange VW van for the lift almost back to the car. Strangely enough Jim
is friendly with my good mate Boyd Patrick also an outstanding Argentinian
Tango Dancer, what a coincidence. It took less than
half an hour in total and I made it to Ludlow at around 9.15am. Nice one
Jim.
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