Bendy ODP Day 8 - Knighton to Kington

22.7 Km in 6:36

My boots and socks were still wet from yesterday but they were ok to wear.  We left at about 0920 and it was bucketing down with rain - another wet day for us. Not a lot of photos today due to the rain. 

The first few Km of today were up.  Up through woodland paths and tracks that were now rivers after the rain; it was slow going and my enthusiasm took a big hit. 

The rain eased after about an hour and it only drizzled for the next couple of hours. 

The path today was predominately fields, on the dyke and only just a little road walking; this was scarey due to the lack of a footpath/sidewalk on busy roads. We crossed a couple of rivers and they were in full flow after last night's rain.

Near a place called Ditchyeld Bridge we were overflown by a few Royal Air Force training jets which came in fast and low (boys in very noisy and expensive tips). For me, a 'fast jet' fan this was the highlight of my day.  We saw them quite a few times over the next hour as we climbed up Herriock Hill (another hill that just kept giving). As we crossed the Ditchyeld Bridge the rain started again; this made the trek up the hill all the more difficult. 

Ruined shed near Ditchyeld Bridge

Ditchyeld Bridge

The path went up Rushock Hill then made it's way down into Kington (it crosses the local golf course). We arrived at the B&B (Castle Hill B&B) just after 1600; Lib and Gail were about 20 minutes away. Twitchy and I had made really good time in the rain. 

We met quite a few other walkers today all of whom were doing the walk in the opposite direction to us. One told us we were doing it in the wrong direction so I quickly informed him there is no official way to do it and it depends on what guidebook you are using; ours goes from north to south. He went a tad quiet after that. At one stage we were joined by a local bloke who was walking his dog; they walked with us for about 30 minutes until they took a different track to us; it was great walking with a dog for a while.