LETJOG E2W – Day 19: Thursday 2 May – BUILTH WELLS to LLANDOVERY (22.8 miles)
New growth: some colour on an otherwise rather drab day
Well they say that plans made at the desk go awry quickly on the ground, and that is very much what happened to my scheduled LETJOG E2W route map for today. I had hoped to ‘hit the hills’ and to take a path over the top of the Sugar Loaf mount and along the ‘Heart of Wales Line Trail’ into Llandovery, but the all-encompassing low cloud and mist made the prospect of any far-reaching views negligible, and high-level walking generally unattractive, if not unwise. No matter – I had a Plan B, albeit a long route-march along lanes and beside the main road.
Leaving Builth Wells, westwards as ever, I took the quiet undulating lanes over the pastures for a dozen miles, through the small village of Llangammarch Wells . . .. . . to the ‘Smallest Town in Britain’, Llanwrtyd Wells . . .. . . before following the roadside path all the way, for ten miles, south-west into Llandovery
Perhaps I was fortunate today not to get a soaking! I did get a little wet through occasional light rain in the air, but it was more low cloud really and the ever-present mist. None of this slowed me down; on the contrary really, as the conditions kept me to the flatter and easier lower ground and gave me less inclination to linger or to explore. The morning walk on the quiet lanes was still a pleasure, and if views were limited then I had the chance to appreciate the sounds of the country – with so little traffic there is virtually no background noise, and the main sounds are the bleating of sheep, the running of the streams, wind in the trees, and occasional dog barks. But it is the birdsong that stands out in the villages, especially from the gardens in Llanwrtyd Wells, whilst I was entertained regularly along the way by the staccato tapping of woodpeckers, the serenades of cuckoos, and the cawing of crows from their nests on high. And in the greyness I managed a few pictures.
Leaving Builth Wells past the twelve standing stones of the Gorsedd Stone Circle – these are not prehistoric, but were put in place in 1993 to commemorate the town’s hosting of the National Eisteddfod of WalesClimbing out of the town, into the mist, but with some brightness on the horizonI was spared last night’s heavy rain on my walk, but the streams seemed full and the fields very boggyThe tops in the cloud now . . .. . . good weather for hillside mosses!These highlanders seemed unperturbed, both by the dampness in the weather and by my presencePassing through a forested valley – along this stretch of minor road I doubt that there was even one vehicle every half hourHundreds of sheep graze these pastures . . .. . . and enjoy a mid-morning snackCrossing the River Irfon at Llangammarch WellsA place to contemplate, over a water stopLlanwrtyd Wells – apparently Britain’s Smallest Town . . .There are two things to say about Llanwrtyd Wells; it is small, but it does have a good coffee shop!And where Builth Wells has its Bull, the town shows off its own EagleCrossing the Irfon river again After following the A483 footpath for a mile or so, at this point I was due to take the high route over the hills, but the combination of mizzle and mist, mud and muscle fatigue led me to stay low . . .. . . and so instead I endured ten miles of cinder and grass tracks by the (thankfully not-too-busy) main road; concentration and hi-viz required nonetheless A farmhouse not to be missedFrom the Sugar Loaf Panorama car park the views were somewhat curtailed todayPassing a field of black sheep . . .. . . and eventually I took the chequered flag, arriving at Llandovery in the late afternoonColour in the town centreLlandovery was an important drovers town, supplying 30,000 cattle and sheep each year to London alone, that were herded to the capital by the likes of Porthmon the Drover, whose statue stands just off the Market Square
And so I shall remember today perhaps not as one of the stand-out walks of my LETJOG E2W adventure, but as another walking leg achieved towards my end goal, and with some hidden pleasures along the way. I hope to get up onto the hills again soon. Maybe tomorrow.
This is part of the Market Square in Llandovery, where I am staying in the red building, The Drovers B&B
My Blog heading today ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ is taken from the title of a 2003 song by Welsh rock band the Stereophonics, from their fourth studio album ‘You Gotta Go There to Come Back’. Written by the group’s frontman Kelly Jones, the song peaked at number three on the UK charts; the lyrics talk about ‘finding the way home from under black clouds’, words that in my case today might have been taken a bit more literally than the lyricist intended!
I am not usually a great one for sharing pictures of food, but the George Hotel in Llandovery did me proud tonight – note the overload, at last of fresh green vegetables (not over-cooked!), that should help me to ward off the scurvy, or whatever other ailments vegetable-deprived long distance walkers are prone to suffer from!
2 thoughts on “Maybe Tomorrow”
Good to see you getting your vitamin D last night Nick. Gloomy weather in Wales seems to have dominated everywhere so far this year – we’re all looking forward to the ☀️this summer. Just around the corner now…..
I love your sense of humour, Nick, and salute you! Great pictures and comments, and the sensory identification of birdsong is informative and delightful. Have also learnt a lot of Geography!! All the best Liz >
Walking for Fun, Challenge and Charity! 
Good to see you getting your vitamin D last night Nick. Gloomy weather in Wales seems to have dominated everywhere so far this year – we’re all looking forward to the ☀️this summer. Just around the corner now…..
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I love your sense of humour, Nick, and salute you! Great pictures and comments, and the sensory identification of birdsong is informative and delightful. Have also learnt a lot of Geography!! All the best Liz >
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