" I've got a bus pass and I like to jump on buses, go for long rides and see where I end up – then just go for a walk. I ended up in Brecon today! I once walked around 15 miles along the canal from this spot before, but I'm not walking far today.
I live in Cardiff. The Taff Trail sets off from there in Cardiff Bay and comes all the way here to Brecon. I've done lots of bits of that walk – it's a lot of walking! A friend of mine has got an electric bike and he has done from here down to Newport. "That's cheating!" I said to him, "If you're going to cycle it, cycle it!"
I've always lived in Wales and I like travelling and going for walks. One reason my voice isn't identifiable as a Cardiff accent is because I'm a lay preacher and a lot of my friends are all over the place. So as I have been speaking for over 30 years, I lost my real Welsh accent. I can still say all these Welsh place names though!
I've been up here to this part of the canal a couple of times and I've been on a boat trip with a group of friends as well. Unfortunately my walking days are beginning to peter out because I've got extremely high cholesterol. It's not ordinary high cholesterol to do with diet, I've got Familial hypercholesterolaemia which is an inherited condition that leads to massively high cholesterol levels. My mum had it and my sister. It doesn't give me angina, it just gives me cramp in my legs. So walking is good for it, but not too far. The trouble is I've always walked fast – I can do four miles an hour. Now I'm trying to reduce down to three miles an hour, but even when I'm going slowly, I'm passing people and I'm thinking 'what are you doing?'
I'm not going to let my leg stop me travelling by bus and visiting places. I like going on my bus rides to 'wherever I end up'!"
John, Brecon, Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal
