Because it’s never too late when you’re already let and cannot reverse the flow of time… Let’s take a look back at the month that was June and see how much I can recall!
01/06 – 9.75 miles – Brecon Beacons
06/06 – 30 miles – Mendip Challenge
10/06 – 3.75 miles – Cheddar Gorge (Weston-super-Walkers)
12/06 – 3.25 miles – Wick St. Lawrence, North Somerset
13/06 – 2.75 mile run – Wick St. Lawrence
14/06 – 10 miles – Coleridge Way: Walk #1
17/06 – 4 miles – Black Down (W-s-W)
20/06 – 10 miles – Quantock Hills (Brunel Walking Group)
24/06 – 15 miles – May Hill from Pump Hill
25/06 – 10.75 miles – Elan Valley, Cambrian Mountains
26/06 – 16.5 miles – Knighton and Knucklas
27/06 – 18.5 miles – Glyndwr’s Way and Offa’s Dyke Path
Total for June 2021 = 134.25 miles
What a way to begin a month of walking! My first walk in Wales of the year and my first attempt of the classic four-peaks Neuadd Horseshoe since… 2016? As busy as it gets on the highest peak in the southern half of the UK; it was good to get back up to and around Pen y Fan.
I’d been wanting to go back for a couple of years – mainly, with the intent of filming a video of the route. But the thought of crowds, the journey time and a desire to explore different parts of South Wales… Well, in the wake of lockdown restrictions having been eased, I felt as though it was a good time to get it done.
This was also a welcome warm up(!) for the thirty-mile Mendip Challenge that would follow, five days later.
An even that I, along with many others, missed out on in 2020. It was so good to have that back and I’ve written about that one already (I’ll try to write about the Beacons walk soon as well).
I’ve had a real stop-start relationship with the Meetup walking group I formed towards the end of 2019. But in June, I was able to get a couple of local evening walks ticked off. Still, I find myself struggling to maintain that comfortable balance between doing walks for others doing walks for myself. A decision is on the horizon. I’m just not ready to reveal it.
With my friend Anna, we’ve finally begun our latest journey across West Somerset, now following the Coleridge Way.
“Life” prohibits us from walking frequently and completing the Way too soon. But we have already covered one-fifth of the total distance in this single outing and, again, I’ve written about that one separately.
I managed to get out on to the Quantock Hills again but with Brunel Walking Group – meeting those others for the first time in too many months. I didn’t take many photos at all on that day – if any. I was mostly looking forward to the following weekend, where I’d be spending time in Shropshire and right on the border with Mid Wales.
I enjoyed my walks following Offa’s Dyke Path and Glyndwr’s Way from the campsite. Even for all its inconveniences and obstructions, I enjoyed my first time and the strife to reach the summit of May Hill in Herefordshire…
But if I could pick only one highlight from that trip, it could only be the Elan Valley. Mid Wales. Cambrian Mountains. Meeting that wild and untamed landscape for the very first time. I don’t know if I’ll get back there this year but I do look forward to future walks and camps nearby.
June was a very good month and, now that I’m almost catching up with my blogging… I’ll soon be able to update you on how July was spent!
Current total for 2021 = 518.5 miles
Thanks for reading.
Walks With Olly 