English: The entrance to the Severn Way path at Rhyd-y-benwch. For more than twenty years I've lived only about twelve miles from the source of the Severn, as the crow flies, but had not before made the 'pilgrimage' to it. For my walk this week I thought that I would continue the Hafren Forest theme (see 1113022 for last week's walk) and take the Severn Way through the forest from Rhyd-y-benwch (SN857869)to the source. In fact, a little on from source takes you to the county boundary stone and cairn at SN819900 - definitely worth the extra effort. As an added bonus, a loop to the south allowed me to gather-in three un-Geographed squares.

The total distance was about twelve miles, with no difficult walking as the Severn Way has been 'sanitised' over the years, and the remainder was on forestry roads. The main problem was the weather. Changeable conditions in the morning led to steady rain by mid-day and the total cloud cover rendered light levels very poor. I hate rain when I'm Geographing with the continuing problem of keeping the spots from the lens. The exposed moorland at the source was bitterly cold and it was a relief to return to the shelter of the lower valleys.

I believe this section of the Severn Way is very popular but understandably not so much at this time of the year. Apart from a couple of dog-walkers near the car park, I saw no one else during the whole twelve mile walk. A pity about the weather (to be expected in Wales at this time of the year!) but overall, very enjoyable and certainly to be recommended.