or Finishing off Offa's walk ... Day 4 ...
We parked near our holiday cottage, no more than three miles away, with a view to walking along the Clwydian Way into Bodfari so we could pick up the Offa's Dyke Path from where we had left it the day before.
In the distance we could see the snow capped peaks of Snowdonia ...
[You may have to click on the photo and look at a large version to see Snowdonia.]
A little way along a lane we reached an obstructed path ... with a public footpath signpost pointing straight at the overgrown hedge ...
Look closely at the notice on the signpost. If you get caught tampering with it you could end up with a six months jail sentence. That might put some of them off removing signposts when they think no one is looking ...
We followed a Road Used as a Public Path [a RUPP] with tall gorse bushes growing either side ...
Another mile further on and we were on the Clwydian Way ... in the shade of overhanging branches.
With the sun streaming down on us as we drew nearer to Bodfari we got a good view of Moel y Parc over a mile away.
As we entered Sodom there were no signs of debauchery ... just a rather colourful garden.
Further down the hill and nearer Bodfari there were still no clouds in the sky and no vapour trails either ... we had a clear view of Moel y Parc again and the hills to the south-east of it.
Walking down the lane into Bodfari we heard the sound of a lawnmower behind an old, rather run-down bungalow to our left.
We noticed the bull terrier lying on the ground which raised itself up on rather arthritic legs. That's not going to bother us much ...
Then we saw the bigger dog behind it, rising to its feet and making a heck of a racket. Still, I thought, there's a fence between us ...
We continued down the lane with the larger dog barking and trying to get through the netting fence.
I noticed the gap at the bottom of the netting. It tried to get through. It couldn't. We kept walking just as the dog actually got under the fence and came straight at us ...
" ...'kin' spiders " is what I cried out as this big dog headed straight for me. Natasha was right behind me ... I heard a desperate "Charlie !" ... as the dog was about a yard or two from me. I thought the only thing I could do was offer it the back of my hand and talk to it in a friendly, soft voice ... along the lines of " ... come on ... what's all this noise ... are you going to be our friend ... ?
Amazingly, it worked. The dog leaned against my leg whilst I kept talking to her, stroking her neck and hoping to God she didn't have tender ears as I ran the back of my hand along the top of her head, still talking to her.
I said to Natasha "come on, let's keep walking ..." but as soon as I moved, this set the dog off barking again. Back to the friendly talking and stroking.
The lawnmower stopped. Someone had realised the dogs weren't around. The lawnmower man shouted out the name of the dog. I shouted back "It's over here ..." He didn't hear me initially.
Eventually a man in his 20s came along and the dog ran to him. I suggested in a friendlier fashion than I felt, that he ought to get his fence fixed ~ he didn't think the dog could get under it. Having said that he went on to say that the older dog, the bull terrier, had got down onto the main road and been run over by a car [gone straight under it] and somehow struggled back up the hill ... and recovered, much to the vet's amazement.
We moved on with me asking Natasha gently what she had expected me to do as she hid behind me ...
We picked up the Offa's Dyke Path again and sat down on the slopes of the old hillfort slowly relaxing ... and enjoying the view of Moel y Parc directly in front of us ...
... and the stile we had just crossed ...
Sodom drew nearer and Natasha set off up the lane with a soulful bounding leap ...
Beyond Sodom the shady path runs across the slope of a small hill, Cefn Du.
A wonderful day, marred only by the bull mastiff bitch. It could have been worse.
You can see the route I followed on the OS Explore website, here :~ http://explore.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os_routes/show/18632
Date of walk ~ 21st April 2010
Length of walk ~ 6 miles
Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 98.75 miles
Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 228.75 miles
19 of 2010
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