After last weeks lengthy missive, you’ll all be pleased to know that this week’s update is going to be short and sweet, mainly because the highlight of my weekend was a trip down to Cardiff to watch the rugby and have a few too many beers with some old friends. Whilst sitting in the pub all afternoon is great fun, it’s not exactly exciting blog material, and if I’m honest, feeling like death warmed up on Sunday after Saturdays excess’ is even less riveting and not exactly conducive to getting anything else done. What I will say though, is if anyone’s ever looking for somewhere to go for a weekend away, then Cardiff is well worth the trip. It’s a bright, clean and metropolitan city, with a lovely atmosphere, some beautiful shops, museums and a castle to look around, and some great nightlife, bars and restaurants, and in my opinion a real success story of regeneration from industrial port to tourist destination. Oh, and as planned, “The Boy” made the journey back home with me on Sunday afternoon and has now been reunited with his car, so that worked out a treat too. Whilst we are talking about things working out well. As always I was keen to be taking full advantage of my trip down to Cardiff, so I set off in the van after tea on Friday night, planning on stopping off on the way to get a bit of running in on Saturday morning. I’d initially planned on going down towards Castell Coch and picking up the Cambrian Way for a few miles from there, but instead elected to cut short the drive by dropping into a little night stop I know in Chepstow and picking up the Wye Valley Walk from there in the morning. And a good choice it was too. Saturday morning dawned surprisingly warm and dry, with just a little early morning mist restricting the views back towards the Severn bridge from my overnight spot, and by 08:00 I had my running shoes on and was out on the trail. Now I’ve walked the first few miles of the Wye Valley Walk before and to be honest I can’t wait until I’ve got enough spare time to go and do the entire length (roll on retirement), as from the little I’ve seen it looks spectacular. Saturday morning didn’t disappoint either. With no real plan and no real destination, I set off along the near deserted trail in the early morning sunshine, with a bounce in my step and lightness of foot. Progress along those first few miles was difficult though. Not because of the mud, hills or terrain, as is normally the case, but simply because every few yards there was another breath-taking view, that I just had to stop for. The trail snakes along the steep sided gorge, the ground worn away by the passage of the river Wye far below, as it's made its way to the sea for millennia, leading to some pretty spectacular running. Plodding slowly along it wasn’t long before I reached a branch in the trail. Left for The Eagles Nest or Right and see what’s down that way. Right, it was, and I followed a little track that got gradually more overgrown and less visible, downhill towards the river. The odd glimpse of water still far below showed I was going the right way as the trail got fainter and fainter. Over fallen trees, around patches of brambles, across rocky and boggy sections until finally, the trail I had been following petered out. This was trail running at it’s best though, and whilst progress was slow as I continued to pick my way over endless obstacles, I was in my element. No time worries, no fears about the distance to cover, just out in the fresh air enjoying the freedom of movement, the peace and solitude and the environment around me. Eventually, as I pushed through the undergrowth, I could go no further, as the river blocked my path. Stop, get my breath back and consider my next move. It looked like there may be feint path to the Right, so I went that way and after a few minutes my suspicions were confirmed and I picked up a bigger trail, heading back up the steep sided valley. Head down and climb until A few minutes later I found myself back to the same turning again. Left this time then, and head towards The Eagles Nest viewpoint. The next signpost said, “left for the easy path or Right for the hard ascent”, well that’s a no brainer. Right it was. Uphill again, the work interrupted for yet more photos as the landscape opened up around me and the trail led me tantalisingly on. Eventually though the summit appeared, and I picked the Wye Valley Walk back up, cresting gently along the wooded hillside for a couple of miles before descending back down to the river at Tintern Abbey, where I finally turned and headed back the way I’d come. Retracing my steps, was no chore. Heading the other way, the views are different, the grounds different, the uphill’s downhill and vice versa.
Back up to The Eagles Nest, down to the little stream crossing, with the slippery stepping stones, through the tunnel, hewn from the rock by hand at some long lost point in the past, stop to stand and stare for a few minutes at the viewpoints again, and eventually two and a half hours after setting off, I’m back at the van. Hot, sweaty, but overjoyed at the beauty of the landscape I’ve traversed in that short timeframe. I may have only done 13 miles, it may have taken me an age compared to my normal pace, but it was one of the best runs I’ve done this year, and without doubt up there with the best ones of all time (and I’ve run in some pretty spectacular places). Some days it just all falls into place. You’re running well, the legs feel good, the trails good, the routes interesting and just keeps drawing your onwards, and the whole thing just seems effortless. It’s days like that, that you spend all year dreaming about and training for. It’s days like that that keep you going when it’s cold, wet, your legs hurt, and you’d really rather be doing anything than heading out running. But when they do happen, it’s just magical!
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Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
March 2024
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