Dog Blog

Llanthony Priory

Back in July 2012 my mammy, daddy, sister and three of our friends (including Finn the boxer) decided to go for a little run up Hatterrall Hill from Llanthony Priory car park. This is a great circular walk of about 5 or 6 miles, although of course I usually run four or five times that distance!

This is a hill walk through one of the most beautiful and least known areas of Wales, taking in romantic ruins and stunning scenery. Llanthony Priory in the Ewyas Valley is in a remote corner of South East Wales, right on the border with England.

Llanthony is a shortened and anglicised form of the Welsh name, Llanddewi Nant Honddu – David’s Church by the little river Honddu. The Priory was founded by a war-sick knight, William de Lacey, back in the 12th century, and the ruins are awesome.

We climbed the zig zag hill past fields of cows until we reached Offa’s Dyke. We headed for the milestone then walked along the dyke for a few miles until we looped back downhill to Llanthony.

When we finished the walk my daddy suggested we drive to one of the oldest pubs in Wales, the Skirrid Mountain Inn, where they used to hang people years ago for sheep stealing. Local legend has it that as many as 180 convicted felons were hanged, some possibly from an oak beam over the well of the staircase outside of the Courtroom. Markings, possibly from rope marks, still exist on the staircase wood.

Anyway, I haven’t chased sheep for a while so I just had some much needed water and crisps.

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