HHH Chapter 6: Smells, stenches and 3,000 years of history

My day off from walking is over, so today I return to Wat and its Dyke path. The photo above looks like a hill but actually shows Oswestry’s Iron Age hill fort. It is a massive structure, with layers and layers of earthen walls, all built by hand almost 3,000 years ago. It would take at least 40 minutes to walk the perimeter. Iron Age people lived there, fought there and took refuge there for 800 years until the Romans took power in the mid-1st century.

As I walked today I reflected on that truly ancient story. We know nothing about any of the people who lived, loved, died, created art, farmed, or prayed during those 800 years. There won’t be much left of us in 3,000 years and no one will remember me at all. This thought is strangely comforting: we are part of a long stream of constant change, just like all those who came before us. We can only do the best we can to live fully until we die.

An eagle, a severed arm and a holy King

This slightly gruesome carving shows an eagle carrying the severed arm of a warrior. King Oswald, later Saint Oswald, was a devout Christian soldier who carried a cross into battle. He was raised by monks on the island of Iona in Scotland, the spiritual home of Celtic Christianity. He died in a battle near present-day Oswestry.

Legend has it that a golden eagle tore off his arm. When the arm fell to the ground, a miraculous spring suddenly appeared. Oswald’s followers created a shrine there and many collected pieces of earth around it to take home as sacred relics. Over time, this created a hole in the ground around the well, which is now below the level of the surrounding ground.

The well has been cared for by local people, with wildflowers growing in the grass, and the stone surrounds are maintained by the local council. It feels a bit municipal, clean, tidy but lacking in atmosphere.

Will I get rid of the bad smell once and for all?

My husband bade me farewell on the Wat’s Dyke road and I set off southwards. At first I walked along very small lanes, passing tractors carrying stinky manure… Now it is the growing season and the field needs to be fertilized. Cow patting could also be heard. These smells are very agricultural, but not entirely pleasant. The route emptied into the Montgomery Canal, also used by the Shropshire Way, and I could suddenly smell rotting fish.

This discarded tail may have been left behind by a fisherman, but the jagged edge and nearby sprain made me think it was the remains of an otter’s dinner. I hope so. Otters almost disappeared as a result of all kinds of environmental pressures. Now they seem to be gradually returning.

Scent! Fragrance! And all the floral delights

The path took me to a forest, green and full of birdsong. I was immediately bathed in the scent of bluebells, piled up under the trees.

As I emerged back onto the path along the canal, there was a smell that I recognized but at first couldn’t name. Then, through the grass, the tiny, shy faces of the violets peeked out. A little further away, on the shore, it was covered with wild mint, which smelled very fresh. There were many different spring flowers. What a contrast of smells and what joy.

It started to rain, light at first and then heavy enough for them to put on more layers. I put on some waterproof pants and added a light waterproof robe over my jacket. Two minutes later it stopped raining. The hesitation to remove the layers again was soon justified. It rained all afternoon.

From the past to the future?

The Montgomery Canal was built to transport limestone from the quarries of Llanmynerch and beyond, to lime kilns for heating. This produced a product called slaked lime which was then transported for use in agriculture and construction.

These waterways are so quiet now that it is difficult to imagine the noise and bustle of 100,000 tonnes a year of limestone being quarried and transported along them. There must have been hundreds of ships in operation. I passed a solar panel in a field. Sometimes we have so much renewable energy available here at night that it is very cheap to use at night (and sometimes even free for some providers). So midnight is a good time to start the washing machine or charge the electric car.

My imagination ran wild and I began to speculate about what the world will be like when fossil fuels run out. Perhaps these waterways will become important transportation routes again, with ships powered by solar energy.

This channel will need more work though!

A ship came towards me, it was the American sailors who greeted me at the aqueduct 2 days ago! We exchanged cheerful greetings in the rain. A little further on I realized why they had turned around after passing me too far. The canal, which fell into disuse last century, was simply completely clogged and blocked. Further on I reached a place where volunteer engineers and strong people are busy restoring the canal so that it will be completely open when they finish it.

I soon arrived at the Dolphin Inn in Llanymynerch. A crackling fire in the bar, homemade fish (bream) with peas and cauliflower cheese, brought joy. You may have even enjoyed the apple crumble and custard.

An antique ivy encrusted barn wall caught my eye today and I drew it before the rain put a stop to all that frivolity.

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