Should we cut short the holiday?

This is the question of today. Although Dad's medical condition seems to be improving slightly but he apparently is quite distressed about what is happening. Between Geoff coughing and me worrying there wasn't much sleep last night. Jenny FaceTimed this morning to update me on what was happening. It's really upsetting to be so far away and not to be able to see Dad. Jenny is doing a great job at being Pa's advocate and has been talking to staff about his condition and treatment. She has organised a roster of both families to ensure Pa has twice daily visits which will really help him. Finally make the decision based on his clinical condition to keep travelling for the time being and see what happens.

We make a ready farewell from Castell Forwyn this morning. We have had a lovely time with the Richards and it's a wrench to leave. They have been so hospitable and helpful and Eddie has made lots of lovely food. I am sure we have put on weight with all the homemade desserts so maybe it's time to go!! Hopefully we will see them in Australia in the future.

Geoff couldn't resist taking Anthony's series one for a spin before we left.

Talk about being famous!

We travel to Knighton first to seek out Offas Dyke again. Knighton is a small market town which is best known as the only town remaining in Offa's Dyke. We went to the Offa's Dyke Information centre which gave a great overview of the monument.

Offa's Dyke is a massive linear earthwork which roughly follows the border between England and Wales. In places its up to 20 metres wide. It was built on the orders of King Offa, King of Mercia to keep out the pesky Welsh who keep raiding into England. The earthwork was dug with the displaced soil piled into a bank on the Mercian (eastern) side.The dyke may have been constructed as a defensive earthwork, as well as a political statement of power and intent.

 

Offa was one of the great rulers of Anglo-Saxon times, though his reign is often overlooked due to a limitation in source material. That he was able to raise a workforce and resources sufficient to construct such an earthwork as Offa's Dyke is testament to his power.

So after finding out all about it we found a portion of the Dyke to walk on.

There were 360 degree views of beautiful countryside

After a couple of miles there was a picnic table so we sat and had lunch.

We arrived at Hereford but it was too late to see the cathedral and other sights. Then we got caught in a major traffic jam so we parked and went and had a cheap tea at Sainsbury's. On the way back to the car we were walking up the very narrow pathway when a motor bike came screaming through followed by a police car in pursuit. We threw ourselves against a wire fence and they just managed to get past us. Talk about close!

We found the most wonderful place tonight to stay. It is a cider farm just near Rye on Wye. The lady came out to meet us and has given us complementary cider and cider fruit cake just -yummy. We watched over the view from our window as the sun set.