Day 32: Ballycastle to Belderrig (9.5 miles)

I finally tore myself away from Sligo today. I was sad to say goodbye. I've had the best time while I've been there. There seems to be a clear climactic divide between Sligo and Mayo with Mayo coming off a definite winner on the precipitation front. In the 9.5 miles I walked today I crossed over 14 bridges because of the amount of water running off the hills down toward the sea. It wasn't a surprise then, when I got out of Minty in Ballycastle, that a light rain had begun to fall.  I parked up outside the Church of Ireland church and walked twenty feet down the hill to a cafe where I stopped off to get some soup and sandwiches to nourish me on my way. It had also been a couple of hours sine I left Sligo so - you know - nature called...again.

When I was all done I set off toward Belderrig with my raincoat on. It didn't take me long to regret that. It was horribly humid and the jacket left me feeling hot and sweaty. The rain was fairly soft so I just took my raincoat off and tied it around my waist and put up with the rain, which was more pleasant that the stickiness of wearing a jacket in that humidity. Although I could see glimpses of the sea, most of what was in view was farmland and bog and streams - lots of streams!

Still on offer was Downpatrick Head and Dun Briste (the broken fort) - the stack that stood proud of the Headland itself.

To my delight the hedgerows were full of beautiful flowers.

I have a special fondness for Rhododendrons despite their reputation as rampant weed. I remember going to Glenstal Abbey as a child just to see them in bloom. My mother loved them.

As the walk progressed the rain began to get a little bit heavier but not enough for me to put the jacket on. In the distance the mountains and hills started to disappear behind the clouds which had started to gather at ground level.

 A couple of miles before The Ceide Fields the sky opened and it started to pour. I put my raincoat on over my already damp body and trudged onwards. The rain ran off the coat onto my trousers and it wasn't long before they were stuck to me and the rain that didn't soak into them ran off and into my shoes. I saw the atrium of the visitor centre in the distance and decided that I would call in to get out of the rain and maybe even dry off a bit.

By the time I finally got there I was soaked right through. I stood in reception and asked if I could use the bathroom and try to dry off while I waited for the rain to stop. They were so kind and accommodating.  My lovely guide from yesterday came over to say hello and on seeing my predicament (everywhere I stood a pool of water started to form around me), he offered me the use of the staff drying room to hang my coat up. So lovely!!

Having ditched the coat I used the bathroom dryers to get the worst of the wet off my trousers. By the time I sat down to have a cup of tea I was no longer forming puddles and I was feeling a little more normal. I was deciding whether I should go back to get Minty and drive him to The Ceide Fields. This would benefit me two fold: 1) I could change my clothes and 2) I'd only have another 4.5 miles left to walk to Belderrig so it would be far less to hitch back at the end of my walk.  There were plenty of people who were leaving Ceide Fields who could have given me a lift to Ballycastle. However when I got my coat back again and realised it was still very wet, inside and out I decided that I was wet already so I might as well just keep going.

Before I left though, I walked across the road to the viewing platform on the cliffs and took a few pictures. The seagull is nesting on the side of the cliff.  I'm quite proud of that one. I was only a tiny bit terrified. Honest,

This was literally 10" from my feet. (Behind the handrail, but still...)

 See if you can spot the seagull nest!

The EDGE!!

Although the heavy rain had now stopped, there was still a persistent drizzle and for the first time in the day it started to feel a little cooler. The coastline seemed to be falling in to the sea in the distance before I turned inland to find a rain-soaked valley filled with rhododendrons.

Then, as the road turned away from the coast the mountains began to appear in the distance.

I always associate Mayo with mountains having visited here in my second year of college for a Geology field trip. I saw a waterfall being blown back up a mountain and had hurricane-force winds and snow to contend with (in the same day). That however was in the dead of winter so I'm hoping that a bit of rain will be all I have to contend with weather-wise this time.

As I came into Belderrig, there were roadworks and the workmen were just clearing away at the end of their working day. I asked on man if the spot I was standing in would to a good spot to get a lift back to Ballycastle. He answered that the young lad who was clearing up would be heading that way in about 20 minutes and maybe I should ask him. I did but he said that he'd only be going back as far as Ceide Fields and he had a bit of work to do before that. The road was deserted and the only two cars that passed in the next 10 minutes were full. Then I saw a car approach form about a mile up the road. It seemed to take an age to get to me. I stuck my thumb out and looked hopeful. The car, driven by a young woman, slowed and stopped near me but it became clear that she'd stopped to talk to the young lad who was clearing up after the roadworks.

Thankfully the young man asked her if she'd take me to Ballycastle and she was happy to do so.  Her name was Tara and she'd just bought the car and was still a bit nervous of driving it so I'm so grateful that she kindly took me back to Minty.

Damp and tired I drove on to the hostel that I'll be staying in for the next four or five nights.  I was too late for dinner so after my shower and letting people who worry about me know that I'd got here OK, I drove to Belmullet to try and find some food. As I got nearer the sun started to go down over a sea so calm you'd swear it was a mirror. In a few days when I walk that way I'm going to have some good pictures to share. 

Total mileage: 426 miles


Raising money for the RNLI on www.justgiving.com/Jane-Volker