Day 7: Buncrana to Burt (Grianan of Aileach Fort) - (13.7 miles)

I knew I had a short day today. Well for a start my load was lightened when the lady who ran my hotel, The Harbour Inn, in Buncrana, arranged to have my backpack dropped to tonight's hotel. She knew someone going to Derry who could drop it off on the way past. And so he did. I'm so grateful to them both.  My back thanks them too!! The walk to my next hotel was only a little over 8 miles if I took the shortest route. I'd already decided against going out to Inch Island which is mostly known as a great place for bird watching. My eyesight is crap and I don't have binoculars. Also, I'm rubbish at spotting birds.

"Look Jane! There's a greater-crested, lesser-spotted dove-tailed joint, tit."

"Where?"

"You missed it!"

Story of my life. So given that it's not a good time of year for birds and I have no interest in them, I gave Inch Island a skip.

The walk out of Buncrana was lovely. The road was wide, with fast-moving traffic, but there was pavement most of the way and a wide hard shoulder when there was no path.  To my right was Lough Swilly looking moody under heavy skies. I made very quick progress.

There were small towns dotted along the way so I felt safe, even though the views disappeared, as I headed inland. Just as I left a little town called Burnfoot (I know how that feels) there was an option to take a shortcut that would mean avoiding Bridgend and which would take me directly to my hotel. However Mary and Owen who ran the first B&B I stayed at last week warned me that it was a very dangerous road and that I'd be better off avoiding it.  When I came to the turn off I had a quick look down to see if it was as busy as they said.  There were three huge lorries coming toward me very fast which were driving over what little space at the verge of the road that I may have had to walk on. I saw my imminent demise if I took that road so instead I took the advice of Mary and Owen and I kept to the big wide main road. When I turned right onto the N13 at Bridgend I was suddenly on one of the fastest roads I'd ever walked on.  The speed limit was 100kmph and it was busy. The hard shoulder was wide and I kept to its furthest limits. My orange poncho ensured I was visible from space so I was confident I was OK. However I witnessed incredible acts of stupidity with cars and trucks alike overtaking on bends and hills. It did feel a bit precarious at times.

The weather worsened the closer I got to my hotel.  I was becoming aware that my poncho wasn't as waterproof as I thought. I was wearing a waterproof jacket underneath but even that was starting to feel as though it was soaking in the rain. The last couple of miles were slow as my back started to ache again. I couldn't see the hills around me as everything disappeared under a thick blanket of cloud.

This was very disappointing to me because I couldn't check in before four and I had intended to climb up behind the hotel to a large stone fort that was perched high on the hill.  You could see five counties from the fort on a clear day.  But this most certainly wasn't a clear day.

As I approached the hotel, the mist started to clear and I could suddenly see the Lough again. I decided to go straight up to the fort. The signpost said 2km. "That's not too bad," I thought, "2km up and 2km down that's 2.5 miles. I can do that!"  I should've known that I couldn't trust a Donegal sign - they lie! I walked up the road and it was steep, very steep. I kept going for about a kilometer to where the road turned right. There was another sign which also said: Grianan of Aileach 2km.  All that climbing and apparently I hadn't moved at all! I walked and walked ever upwards and I knew I'd gone more than 2 km but there was no sign of the fort. I kept going. The sky began to mist over again and the rain once again returned and still there was no sign of the fort.  Eventually just when I was about ready to give up there was another sign pointing up a narrow little winding road that said I had another 1km to go. Hmmm. When I got to the top I checked my GPS and I'd climbed up 2.25 miles. Oh signmakers of Donegal - a kilometer is NOT the same as a mile! This might not matter when you're in a car but it really does when you're on foot.

Grianan of Aileach stood before me, grey stones walls shrouded in mist.  The first thing I came across was a health and safety notice that I laughed at because it looked like they were trying to cover themselves for every possible scenario that could go wrong.

I entered the fort through a low doorway. Inside the walls rose around me.  Narrow stone stairways, shiny with rain, rose to the upper level from which you could see for miles around (allegedly). The wind swirled around inside the fort as though someone had stirred an ancient cauldron. I went to climb up to the next level and suddenly I realised that, far from exaggerating the risk of injury, The Office of Public Works didn't go far enough. The steps were tiny and slippy.  I hung on to the wall as I climbed while a little voice in my head yelled "What are you doing you effing eejit? If you fall off this you've had it."  But I'd walked all that way ... so I continued. As soon as I raised my head above the level of the wall the full force of the wind almost blew me back into the fort. I grabbed the wall and steadied myself. "Right, put the water down, you'll need both hands. Take a few pictures and get the hell out of here." (You do talk to yourself a lot when you're on your own.)

That's exactly what I did - took about three or four photos and then I went to go back down again. If I thought that it was steep and narrow coming up, the reality of going down the same steps whilst being buffeted by the wind was terrifying.  I did what I always do in such situations: I sat on my bottom and shuffled down.  I've never been so glad to be on terra firma. The photos are, of course, a disappointment, but I hope they convey the bleakness of it all.

I didn't hang about. I decided that a hot shower, a cup of tea and a heated room were the things I most wanted in the world, so off I went down, down, down for another 2.25 miles.

I am warm and dry now. I like warm and dry. It's cosy. Cosy is good.


Total miles to date: 104 miles.