Day 27 – Bodfari to the Jubilee Tower #2

Why #2? Because we tried this route once already (#1) and abandoned it due to incompatability

Distance: 17.7 km

Steps: 31,802

First. I must say a huge THANK YOU to Ian Priestley of Bodfari B&B for his baggage transfer service 👍

It took me a little over two hours to rise from 32 metres elevation at Bodfari to 440 metres elevation at the summit of Penycloddiau. A relentless slog. As I crested the summit, I expected solitude, or maybe a couple of hardy hill walkers sharing a flask of tea. But what I didn’t expect was a young mum in a summer frock and sandals, with three young children playing on the cairn.

So, there’s another way up. Sure enough, the map shows a car park right on the trail, about 2 km west of here.

The view fom the top is outstanding. A full 360 degree panorama

I walked on, meeting a dozen or so people on the way (very busy) and met Doris from Switzerland. Doris knows these hills very well and was able to provide much good advice

Apart from the fearsome inclines, the next point of interest is Moel Arthur. King Arthur’s hill fort

I’m not sure if Lancelot and Guinnivere et al actually lived here but that’s the story

I stopped for lunch by the cattle grid and stared in awe at the next stretch of Offa’s Dyke Path. This path looks to be near vertical. But it is the marked pathway so I reasoned that I had to take it. Talk about ‘a bit of a scramble’! I went the final 100 metres literally on my hands and knees, pulling myself along by grabbing clumps of vegetation. Jubilee Tower is visible from here

Pretty well a 3 km ridge walk from here.

If you’d like to contribute to Parkinson’s UK, here’s the link

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sebastians-swagger