Day 9: Burt to Letterkenny - (16.1 miles)

We (my husband, Tim and I) left home in East Sussex yesterday afternoon and drove to Holyhead where we caught a 2.30am ferry to Dublin. We landed in Dublin at about 6am and drove to the hotel in Burt where I spent my last night during my February walk before I had to leave in a hurry and abandon my last day of walking. It had been raining heavily the whole way from Dublin so I put on my full rain gear, bade my husband adieu and I walked the 16.1 miles to Letterkenny.

I am so tired right now that's all I want to write - the bare bones - we drove; we didn't sleep; I walked. But that doesn't really tell you anything...

We made good time to Holyhead getting there at about 11.30pm. We planned to sleep a couple of hours before boarding. We'd brought pillows and a duvet. What we didn't plan on were the constant interruptions - the two vans of pedigree dogs that all had to be walked whose owners yelled at every one; the two cars to our left that were travelling in convoy whose drivers and passengers spent the wait noisily playing musical cars, loudly talking and slamming car doors and the ferry workers who kept waking us up to move the car a few feet forward.  By the time we got on board we were desperate for some shut-eye. There hadn't been any cabins left when we booked the ferry. It was an overnight crossing on a holiday weekend so they'd all been booked up. However we did get on board reasonably quickly and we found a sofa at the front of deck 7 in a corner with no through traffic, far away from the usual hubbub of the public decks. We brought our pillows with us from the car, made ourselves comfy and started to nod off. The Captain's welcome told us that we were going to have a rough crossing. There was a storm on the Irish Sea you see and we were heading West as it was heading East. They were going to take a less direct route that would take a fraction longer but which would hopefully avoid the worst of it and they were deploying the stabilisers so we wouldn't be rocked around too much. I have a tendency to get seasick. However if I could just go to sleep I'd be fine. I curled up on the sofa with Tim and we nodded off. It wasn't long, before we hit open sea though and the vessel was being thrown about, slamming into enormous waves with thunderous bangs. My stomach remained good though. I did not feel nauseous. But the same could not be said for many others on the deck.  The children, in particular, were having a terrible time, sobbing their little hearts out, begging their parents to help as they wretched and threw up. I drifted in and out sleep,constantly woken by the sounds of another little mite being ill. Sometime around 4.30am the seas calmed and sleep finally came. We were woken an hour later as we made our approach to Dublin Port.

Although we were hungry we made the decision to get straight on the road and get to Donegal as soon as we could. The roads were remarkably clear but heavy rain battered us the whole way North. I stared at the sky ahead of me willing it to clear up. By the time we crossed the border into Donegal, the rain was easing off and we found a garage with a little diner where we got some coffee and breakfast. I took the opportunity to use the bathroom because I knew my walk today was on large, fast-moving roads with no sheltered spots for a discreet bathroom break. I must make the most of plumbing when I had it available. We continued on and it wasn't long before I found myself in the car park of An Grianan Hotel where I'd stayed my last night in February.

I brought a small rucksack with me to carry a few bits but I decided not to use it. I took only essentials - phone, camera, bottle of water, charger in case phone went flat and a few other bits that I could carry in pockets. I put the necessary barriers on my feet to prevent blisters, put on my waterproof trousers and my bright orange poncho and I was ready. With no more than a couple of hours of fitful sleep under my belt I walked off toward Letterkenny.

 

 


What little rain there was was soft and I didn't even have my hood up for most of the day. I made good progress and reached the five mile mark easily.  There was a garage here. I thought about going over to use the loo but I didn't need to go and it was across a wide road.  I knew there was another garage another five miles down the road. I could go for a visit to the bathroom there. By eight miles I was starting to feel the familiar ache in my mid back (where I now know I have a very minor scoliosis of the spine). I did the recommended exercises and I took a little rest on a wall and had a Toffee Crisp and some water and set off again. My walk was punctuated by light showers and people hooting their horns and waving at me. I'm not sure why, but I assume that a woman dressed in fluorescent orange marching along the hard shoulder of a road where cars can drive at 100kmph is worthy of encouragement. By the nine mile marker I was starting to look out for the next garage which I knew to be on my side of the road. It was with some relief that it came into view. However unlike every other garage I'd passed this one did not have a shop/cafe attached (and hence a bathroom) - it had a Euronics Electrical shop.

Sweet mother of fudge cake!

Nothing was desperate. I had time. I wasn't familiar with the rest of the road but it was a major thoroughfare leading into a big town.  There was bound to be another garage along the way.  Wasn't there?

Er. No.

I still had about 6.5 more miles to go and I really needed to go. So convinced was I that there would be access to indoor plumbing that I didn't take my recent purchase of a 'shewee' so that I could avoid the embarrassment of my last bathroom 'incident'. It wasn't ideal but I knew I could hold it till Letterkenny. Unfortunately with about four miles left to go the situation became unexpectedly urgent. My stomach started to rumble and become extremely uncomfortable. This I most definitely hadn't expected. Without getting too indelicate, I thought that particular daily event had already been taken care of. But whether it was the travelling, the garage-bought breakfast, the nerves of the first day or even the exercise itself, let's just say that this wasn't the kind of situation that could be handled on a dual carriageway.  I started to walk at a very fast pace. I was extremely uncomfortable. I knew that as soon as I got to Letterkenny there would be pubs, hotels and garages galore. I just needed to get there.

Then out of nowhere it started to pour out of the heavens. The wind whipped up and started pushing me off my feet. Visibility fell to near zero. I literally could not see two feet in front of me. It was sharp, painful rain. I couldn't see the road. I had to stop in my tracks and turn away from the wind. I ran off the road and hid behind a tree by the grass verge. I would have to wait this out. My stomach rumbled violently.  I couldn't stop. For the love of all that's holy I needed a bathroom and I needed it NOW. So I pulled my hood down over my head and I poughed into the oncoming deluge and gusts as quickly as I could. The first roundabout as I got to Letterkenny had a beautiful stone arch with brass statues on it. I didn't stop to take a picture. I saw a garage with a diner and I started to break into a clenched jog. I stormed in dripping wet all over the newly mopped floors and made it to the loo just in time. I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd been even 30 seconds longer.

Many minutes later I emerged looking pale and feeling bloody awful. I bought a sugary drink and sat down to text Tim to come get me.  I knew he was more than a half hour's drive away. The traffic was awful so I said I start to walk out the road and I'd meet him coming in the other direction. I felt weak and all my muscles started to cramp. I trudged on. The rain disappeared and as though to spite me, the sun came out and started to beat down on my soaking wet, sick and sore body. I struggled out of the town to where the Wild Atlantic Way started to wind its way north again. I came to a spot where Tim could pull in off the road and I waited there to be picked up. A few minutes later he pulled up. I took all my wet clothes off (the outer layer) and sat in the car so very grateful not to have to walk another step.

As we drove out of town along the road I would have to travel tomorrow I was alarmed at how narrow yet busy it was. It seemed to go up hill the whole way. When I got to the part that I would be walking the day after tomorrow my alarm turned to horror.  While it is stunningly beautiful it is a very narrow winding road with cliffs falling away to the right and mountains soaring on the left, I was nervous traveling it IN THE CAR. If the weather changes like it did today while I'm walking it, it'll be dangerous as hell. My head was too foggy to think through this dilemma. By now exhaustion was overtaking me. When we got to our rented cottage I was started to shiver and could barely move. I needed to do my stretches and have a shower. By the time I came downstairs I could barely keep my eyes open.It was 4.30 pm. I climbed under my duvet and tried to warm up while Tim cooked dinner. We decided to stay in and watch a movie. I slept through most of it. I was in bed at 8pm. I have to plan my route for tomorrow now. I hope I can keep my eyes open.

Total miles: 120.1 miles