We awoke rather late to blue skies; unequivocally blue! In truth, we had allowed ourselves a lie-in. On the previous evening, before dropping off to sleep, we had promised ourselves a rest. This was a pragmatic decision; if we were going to make Sedbury Cliffs by the following Saturday, our bodies needed a little break. We honestly couldn’t cope with any further switchback terrain after the previous afternoon’s exertions. Besides which, all this obsessive following of The Dyke was beginning to feel like stalking. The last thing that we wanted was to be accused of importuning an ancient earthwork! We were committed to stay at The Old Radnorshire Arms Hotel in Presteigne on the evening of this 9th day, and so we decided to take a ‘bus or taxi to Knighton, and walk from there.
No buses run from Newcastle to Knighton, but there was a coach/taxi firm just next door to the Crown Inn. The lady of the family business ran us to Knighton via Clun with its crumbly castle and quaint village looking resplendent in the spring sunshine. We were dropped at The Offa’s Dyke Centre in Knighton, a smart spacious building offering a great deal of information about The Dyke and selling snacks and mementoes. We bought new T-shirts; at least we could now boast one item of clean clothing each. We ambled through Knighton, a seemingly sleepy, old-fashioned small town, and wandered into a hardware store that was like Aladdin’s cave. We emerged with a small Thermos flask; if The Path was proving to be sparse in terms of shops and other services, we would carry hot drinks with us. Before restarting our walking in earnest, we had coffee in JD’s Cafe.
At this point we left ODP and turned left onto the B4356 to head for Presteigne. We had intended ringing for a taxi at Dolley Green, but we felt fresh and decided to continue walking; the town was only 2 – 3 miles away, and we had only walked five miles of ODP. The walk, in itself, was straightforward but rather dull, the road being flanked by high hedges for most of the way. The B4356 also proved to be rather busy, and as it was narrow and without pavement, the taxi would certainly have been the safer and more sensible option.