As I approached the pub I saw that it was part of a chain and my heart sank, as I pictured children, a ball park and many, many crayons (and don't I see enough of those? Well, children and crayons anyway). However it seems that Chef & Brewer are a cut above your average chain. The kids are locked in the cellar, the ale is real (Otter) and the food superb. Here's an example from the menu: "Delicious venison haunch medallions in a rich red wine sauce, with savoy cabbage and bacon, rosemary roasted new potatoes and a redcurrant chutney". And I didn't even choose it! I went for the slow cooked beef rib, which was delicious. Long distance walking is completely dominated by two things: walking and food. Oh, and drink.
Anyway, I have actually done some walking today and very nice it was too, the perfect 12 mile first warm-up with just the right amount of pain. Tomorrow will be a second warm-up of just 11 miles, after which the backpack should stop hurting in time for the tougher, more mountainous days to come. No, it's great fun, really!
I love Cardiff but nearly always visit in winter, so it was a bit of a shame to arrive on the train and have to walk out straight away, as it was a beautiful day and much more laid back than it is just before Christmas (obviously!). Well almost straight away. I gave myself 15 minutes in Spillers Records (good but not as good as Probe Records in Liverpool and nowhere near as good as Piccadilly Records in Manchester), which was a bit pointless because I could hardly carry LPs around with me for 12 days. The castle is the start of the Cambrian Way so I touched the sign and set off through the delightful Bute Park. There were cyclists everywhere but no sign of the next Wiggins or Pendleton. It is six miles from Cardiff Castle to the fairytale Castell Coch (as featured in 'Jim'll fix it' in the 70s, BBC archive fans), and the path gives little indication that you are anywhere near a city, apart from passing beneath the M4. A lovely path leading to a lush tea room at Castell Coch, where a wedding was occurring.
Let sleeping ducks lie. Nature reserve somewhere in Cardiff.
Castell Coch. Bride marries photographer as bored groom clears off to pub.
The route became hillier during the second half of the walk but the path was good and I was soon up at 300 metres, looking down on the city with Somerset in the distance.
I arrived at the B&B and almost immediately my Mum phoned to ask me to consider whether to carry on with the walk as the forecast for tomorrow is so bad. Which was kind of her, I think. The B&B is near a village called Rudry, which appears to consist of the pub I'm in, a village hall, a school and two houses. The B&B is ok, though my room is overlooked by at least 15 rooms in the single, enormous building next door. And the shower's rubbish, though the blueberry shampoo is quite pleasant. Well it's been lovely spending an evening in a pub garden but the B&B's a mile away, so I'd better get back before the typhoon arrives.
Coming tomorrow:
ANOTHER 11 miles of modest hills.
BAD weather.
Camping on a farm with NO SHOWER OR TOILET.
A pub meal near CWMBRAN.
-- Posted from Kev's iPhone
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