So yesterday ... was lovely. I mean really, really lovely. After the hard slog of Tuesday, I looked at the map and saw that a good 90% of the route today would be on N roads (I guess the nearest UK equivalent would be an A road and in the US, a highway) which made me feel nervous and question why I was doing this at all. As I set out from Creeslough I had pavement to walk on to the town border and then as soon as the 100 km/h sign appeared the walkway disappeared and I was sharing my footspace with fast-moving traffic again. For about four miles the road curved and went uphill on a slow gradient. It was comfortable enough to walk on but with no views it really was very dull. Then after about 4.5 miles I reached the small seaside town of Portnablagh and everything changed.
The first thing that happened is that I came upon an art gallery that was also a restaurant/ cafe. I hadn't intended to take a break this early and the sensible / goal-orientated side of me was telling me that I needed to make it to Dunfanaghy by sucha-sucha time and that there was no time to take extra breaks. It warned me that sitting at this early stage was inviting stiffness and would make the rest of the journey harder. But I looked at the paintings in the window and said, "Sure, fuck it! What's the point of this if I can't do the nice stuff on the spur of the moment?" So I went in to Buttermilk, which was very busy, and I looked at all the lovely paintings created by local artists. There was one in particular I fell in love with. Such a pity I didn't have the hundreds of euro to buy it with or the ability to carry it with me. But it was nice to look. There were no seats left inside but there was a terrace out the back where I was welcome to sit if I liked. I walked outside to find that it overlooked a pretty little beach and pier. Heaven. The seats were all wet but I didn't mind. As I rummaged around in my small backpack for my waterproofs the owner of the place came outside to welcome me and dry off my chair and table. I used my trousers as a little cushion and ordered some soup. I was still full up after breakfast but I really wanted to stay for a bit. The soup itself was extremely tasty and I surprised myself by eating it all. To be honest I could have stayed there a lot longer but sensible Jane over-ruled me and I packed up to leave. I spoke to the owner as I paid of my meal. He asked me if I was walking and I told him about my challenge. He wondered if I was doing it for a charity and I said that I was raising money for the RNLI. He was so pleased with that. "Oh the RNLI is a wonderful institution. We rely on it so heavily around here. Every year we lose someone to the sea. A local fisherman drowned last year. If it wasn't for the RNLI there'd be a lot more families mourning every year. It's a great, great thing and so important to those who make their living by or on the sea."
And there you have it. If I needed a good reason to keep going after the hard days that was it. So if you ever find yourself in Portnablagh do go in to Buttermilk for a meal or a gander at the art. The staff are brilliant and (as it's now my new preoccupation in life), the bathroom is of an excellent standard.
The view from the terrace.
Reluctantly, I pressed on but with the sea on my right now, I had lots of changing views to look at and I suddenly felt as though the bounce had returned to my step.
Dunfanaghy was the next town along the way. It was a bigger place, full of pubs promising ceol agus deoch (music and drink), as well as interesting craft shops. having lost a half hour earlier I couldn't linger and also the temptation to buy things I couldn't possibly carry was far too great, so I continued on toward Falcarragh.
The next six miles was tough at times. The road was relentlessly busy and I longed to get off of it. It provided a few opportunities for escape. I managed to find a couple of roads that not only took me off the beaten track which had the added advantage of also shaving off a couple of miles as well.
However even though the sea had disappeared, this road brought new mountain vistas which offer a little window of what I might be in for today.
I also took this picture which I'm sharing because this little fellow was so far away I had to use maximum zoom, stand on a bank and steady myself on a telephone pole to get it. So viola!
When I finally got to Falcarragh, As usual, my priority was to find a bathroom (is anyone detecting a theme emerging?) so I stopped at a visitor centre to grab a quick drink and to use the facilities. I felt bad because it was about a half hour before closing time and the ladies who worked there were clearly trying to get a jump on the final cleaning duties so they could leave as soon as it closed. I walked over the mopped floor and used the bathroom that had already been cleaned (with so much bleach I nearly passed out). The drink was very welcome though and the women who worked there weren't at all put out by my presence there and the intrusion for 1.20 euros. It would only be another couple of miles to Gortahork so on I went feeling quite refreshed.
I took another short-cut over a hill which was very pleasant but it was also very nice to see the sea again as I walked down to the end of my route.
Tim hadn't arrived yet when I reached the town so I figured what the hey I could walk on to the other side of the town to the point where the Wild Atlantic Way finally left the N56. I thought it would be a good starting point for today's walk. As I waited for Tim to come get me I reflected on how different the day had been. It had been less that 2 miles shorter than Tuesday but I felt good at its end. I don't know what changed. Was it me? Was there something about the route that was better? I do think breaking it up with towns made it more interesting. I came to the conclusion that there would be good days and bad days and the difference between them would be intangible because there would be so many factors to consider. It's a magical mystery tour!
When Tim arrived I asked him if, on the way back, we could drive the routes I had to miss out. One was a spur road from Dunfanaghy; one a trip to a beach and the third was the peninsula I'd had to abandon on Tuesday. I might not have had time to walk them but I really wanted to see what I was missing. He was up for it so of we went.
The first side trip took me to Horn Head. As the car wound around a single track road up and up and up again, I found myself very grateful that I'd decided not to take this little detour on foot. As we came to the view point my fear of edges started to go into overdrive. I think if I'd walked this road there might have been tears. That said the view was INCREDIBLE!
EDGE!!
The beach at Marble Hill was beautiful and long and very busy but most of all it was COLD. So very cold - so we didn't linger.
The last visit was to the Northern tip of the Ros Guill Peninsula - the place I should've walked that day. Boy am I glad I didn't. I mean I am SO pleased we went to see it as it was interesting and so very beautiful but there was barely enough room on the road for a single car and it was miles of high cliffs and winding roads. I was in a state of near panic in the car. If I'd had to walk it, I'd have been a mess. You see I have to walk on the right - the same side as on-coming traffic, which would have put me resolutely on the EDGE all the way around. Also the other thing I realised was that it would have taken me the entire day just to do this route. There was a lot of climbing and it was about 12 miles in total. So all in all I think that my messing up the schedule was probably a blessing in disguise.
One of the interesting things we saw was this cannon from the S.S. Laurentic which was sunk nearby during WW1. You can read about its doomed history on this handy rock. There are so many little tributes along this route to ships lost at sea. The fact that there aren't more is largely due to the efforts of the RNLI and things like this are as much a reminder of its importance as the happy stories of rescue.
If you fancy giving a little to the RNLI my Just Giving page can be found here:
https://www.justgiving.com/Jane-Volker
It'll be going till I've finished at the end of August. Many thanks xxx
Total mileage: 186.3 miles
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