Day 11: Bwlch y Sarnau - Dieldre
I was in for an amazing surprise at the end of the day...
Day 11 - Bwlch y Sarnau - Dieldre: 26.27km / 807m elevation / 4 hours 58mins walking / 33,680 steps)
I woke early, wanting everything packed and ready as soon as possible. Today was the first day I would see my parents since the end of February. When I woke they had already left to make the 3 hour drive to mid Wales to meet me to pick up my bag before heading to our accommodation for that evening. That's right, my last night of the Epic Hiking Fundraiser wasn't going to be sleeping in my tent in the rain, or on a kitchen floor surrounded by spiders, but in a bed in the incredible accommodation of a Grade II Listed building in Llanidloes.
When they arrived, after hugs and kisses and catching up, I gladly gave my dad my heavy bag and with the tent stuffed in the bottom. Would I miss having something that's become a staple of the walk for the last 2 weeks? Absolutely not.
They dropped me back to the Glyndŵr's Way so I didn't have to walk that extra 2 miles I didn't account for from the day before. I would see them in a few hours where they were due to walk a bit of the way with me when I reached Llanidloes.
Like the day before, more forestry plantations occupied the first half of the walk before splitting open with fine views across to the Eryri National Park. Now walking with a mere 2kg on my bag, nothing on the 20kg I'd been walking with, I actually slowed down the pace I walked at so I could enjoy these fine views. With the weight of my other bag on my back, I'd often neglected to enjoy some of the finest views Cymru had to offer.
Zigzagging in and out of wooded valleys, I reached Llanidloes, the first town I'd seen since leaving Knighton 2 days earlier, and went to meet my parents. They donned their walking boots and we set off together, where they would join me for the next two and a half miles.
It was lovely to catch-up on the previous two weeks as we climbed into a woodland. Walking and talking was not something I was used to on this trek, and we soon found ourselves lost as I took us the wrong way. Almost 40 minutes after looping along the same tracks and going back and forth to the map, we eventually found our way back to the trail and mam and dad decided this was the best time to turn back before we got lost again! I would see them next when they picked me up from the top of the Llyn Clywedog Dam.
The walk from here was rather uneventful as I pushed to make up for lost time walking quickly beyond sheep, farmland and through woodland paths. The rain and wind that was forecast now started, and it came heavy. Knowing my parents would be waiting for me with a beer at the end of the day, for the first time in almost 5 days, I had considered finding a shortcut so I could finish earlier and abandon the atrocious weather, but knowing I would look back to regret this, I continued on the trail heading for the direction of the Llyn Clywedog Dam.
I pushed on, stopping occasionally behind abandoned farmhouse buildings just to get some rest bite from the wind and rain plummeting my face as I walked and take that chance to eat. My whole body, including my gloves, hands, socks and feet were drenched with still two hours left to walk. While I was boxing with the weather, unbeknownst to me, I had a surprise waiting for me once I'd got back to Llanidloes.
After eventually arriving at the picturesque site of the Llyn Clywedog Dam, I spent some time here reflecting that tomorrow was my final day. I was wet, cold and in pain, but realised that I still might miss walking everyday and getting to see views like this.
Once I got back to Llanidloes, I spent some time in the appartment with my parents, catching up, having a drink and watching tv. We soon headed out to the pub for some food and, as I walked in, I was tackled almost to the floor! To my surprise, not only did my parents drive three hours to the middle of nowhere, but three friends from work also did the same! I caught up with them over drinks, burgers and pizza's late into the night.
Knowing my final day tomorrow was the longest so far at almost 23 miles, I decided it was time to call it a day, ready for my final day of walking on the Epic Hiking Fundriaser.
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