Day 14: Gortahork to Bunbeg (14.6 miles)

I got started later than usual today. We were left without any phone signal last night which meant I had to write and post on the blog this morning. On top of that it's nearly an hour's drive to the drop-off point now so it was actually 12.20pm by the time I said 'goodbye' to Tim today and headed off west of Gortahork.

It wasn't long before the road started to climb. I hadn't had time to check the maps before setting out today so the almost instant hills were a bit unexpected. The coast provided vista after stunning vista as the road slowly wended its way upward.

As usual the sheep and lambs were very chatty. Well not all of them. It was such a sunny day some of them were having a snooze.

Soon I could see a beach below me. The higher I climbed the better it looked. The sea was a mixture of deep blues and greens. I even saw a few people on the beach near the pier getting ready for a swim.

In the distance was Tory Island, a remote but still inhabited island that is frequently cut off in the winter due to rough seas. No need to worry about that today though.

Ahead of me was a very large hill - it definitely would qualify as a wee mountain. With growing dread as I walked closer I realised that I was going to have to walk around it. It was HUGE! The road that led to it, because it ran over a bog (with all its inherent sinkiness) was about as twisty as it could be. I could see where I needed to go but the road never heard that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line - it just meandered around and around. As I came close to the wee mountain (Cnoc Fola) there came a fork in the road. The road to the left would bring me directly to where I wanted to go in 6 or 7 miles. The road to the right - which was the Wild Atlantic Way would take considerably longer and would involve a lot more uphill climbing. I was tempted to go left. I really was. I'd only been on the bog for a few miles but I was already utterly pissed off with it. I checked the distance on my phone. The way to the right would be 15 miles in total. It wouldn't be an easy walk but I didn't sign up for easy, I signed up to follow the Wild Atlantic Way as much as I possibly could. It didn't take more than a minute to talk myself out of taking the easy way and I turned right.

I wasn't wrong about what was ahead. It was more hills and more bog.

I was starting to regret my decision when I finally went around the wee mountain and the coast just opened up before me.

It was all worth it to see this. I continued on into Brinlack. It was ten miles into the walk and I needed a rest stop. Brinlack was the weirdest place. It was a very large village of just detached bungalows. It sprawled on for ages. Surely it must have a pub, or a tea shop or something? I kept trudging on. There was a very small post office. that was it. I was out of town and on my way to Derrybeg when I came across Teach Jack (Jack's House) a very large bar/ restaurant/ lodging house. I saw it from about a mile away. "Please be a pub. Please be a pub."  I said the whole way there. As I got closer and saw how huge it was I had doubts and thought it might be a hotel or a golf club or something."Please be a pub." It was a pub though so I had a lovely sit down, a cold drink and ... well you know at this stage what was needed after four hours on the road!

I texted Tim and arranged to meet in Bunbeg at 6pm. I was a little over 4 miles away. The rest of the journey wasn't very interesting because the sprawl of bungalows just continued, albeit interspersed with the odd dormer bungalow. It was very odd indeed. Brinlack turned into Derrybeg (a much bigger affair with actual shops and stuff) which eventually turned into Bunbeg. I found our meeting spot. It was 5.55pm. Tim came 2 minutes later. We couldn't have coordinated it better if we tried.

One of the biggest disappointments I had when planning my visit to Donegal was that I would not get to see the Glenveagh National Park which is inland and not part of The Wild Atlantic Way. However, because I have Tim with me for this week we were able to drive through it on our way home tonight. It is the most gobsmackingly beautiful and bizarre place I've ever visited, Proper big mountains tower above an alien scrubland. There are plantation forests and lakes and the roads are a driver's dream. I turned to my husband as we were zooming along and said, "You're loving this, aren't you?"

"I certainly am," he grinned.

I'm so glad I didn't miss it!

Tonight I'm parked up facing a tranquil lake with the sun just setting in front of me. It also happens to be a 4G hotspot with fantastic internet access. I didn't want to take anything for granted tonight. It's a long way back to Bunbeg. I'd like to get started earlier tomorrow.

Total mileage: 200.9 miles