After breakfast I carried on along the Mongomery Canal, I actually came across two boats owned by a charity which offers rides to wheel chair users, they can’t go far, the canal is not connected to the rest of the network and this section is only 12 miles long.
A couple of miles out of Welshpool the route passes the site of Strata Marcella Abbey which was founded in 1170 and was in the 13th Century the largest abbey in Wales. Around 1190 the Abbot, called Enoc, got into trouble with a nun and had to resign, I suppose it is better than getting involved with choir boys. The Abbey was very wealthy but they tended to support the Welsh so the English did their best to undermine them so by the dissolution in 1536 there were only 4 monks left. Today there is almost nothing left so it was a bit of a waste of time crossing the road to see it. The field is for sale so if you fancy buying an ancient monument then this might be your chance, there are a few strange humps and ridges in the field which is all there is to show of the buildings but who knows what lies underneath.
Passing Criggion a huge quarry comes into view below Rodney’s Pillar, a monument to Admiral Rodney paid for by “The Good Gentlemen of Montgomeryshire” in thanks for his victory against the French during the American wars of independence. What you might not realise is that this quarry was almost certainly the first place the Russians would have bombed had World War III been declared. Criggion Radio Station was supposedly a BT site but it actually had a radio antenna which used the quarry face as a huge reflector, its role was to communicate with UK submarines. If they were going to be instructed to fire their nuclear missiles then this was where the message would have been broadcast from hence the Russians desire to wipe it off the map asap. It would have been hard to keep secret, the aerial masts were over 600 ft tall and had wires strung out to the top of the quarry, anyone driving past with a modicum of wireless knowledge would have realised they were not broadcasting Radio 1. The site is no longer in use and the aerials have been dismantled, I presume we just send a tweet to launch our missiles. I don’t know if anyone has told the Russians the site is no longer used, I hope so with the current troubles with Mr Putin.
Talking of wars and defensive measures King Offa built his dyke to keep out the Welsh and this part of the walk follows the Offas Dyke path for quite a way although most of the dyke looks more modern and designed to stop floods, perhaps Offa was not trying to keep the Welsh out but to stop his fields being flooded.
I was making good progress so decided to make a short detour to visit Llandrinio Church which is Norman and looks great from the outside, it was locked. The graveyard was very well tended and neat but there were no seats or benches whatsoever. How are pilgrims like myself supposed to be able to rest and pray! I would also think that most of the visitors to the graveyard (those who are still alive) would be elderly and would like somewhere to rest. Very strange. I sat on a tomb and ate biscuits.
One serious drop off on my part, I booked a room in a pub/B&B whose address is Crew Green. The OS map shows a pub in Crew Green so stupidly I assumed this was it. It isn’t, the Fig Tree pub is abandoned (and for sale) and the pub I wanted is a mile up a busy main road so I was a little weary when I arrived and, as tomorrow is a very long day (and supposedly wet) the extra mile back to the route will not be a good way to start.
Why is tomorrow a long one? The guidebook suggest two short days, 8¾ miles to Montford Bridge and the second day 6¾ miles to the far side of Shrewsbury. There is not a lot in Montford Bridge so I, perhaps stupidly, am going to walk 14 miles to Shrewsbury and add 1½ miles onto the following day. But now I have an extra mile at the start and the weather forecast is rain between showers, it might be a big mistake.