Day 34: The Carrowteige Loop (5.6 miles)

Carrowteige is a small little village in the Gaeltacht area of North West Mayo. I was told that the loop walk was beautiful and I decided to give it a go today because tomorrow is going to be a long walk in to Belmullet so I thought I'd give myself an easy day today. It turned out to be a much shorter walk than I'd anticipated so not a lot happened.

So today's blog is going to be mostly pictures and maybe a few words...

 This is actually a sculpture on the Tir Saile sculpture trail. Unfortunately it's upside-down. It's called Caochan and it is by Walter Michael.

 The weather was overcast but dry. However over on the mountain, the clouds were gathering.

It was a barren boggy area without trees or even many hedges but I still found some flowers to warm my heart.

  A double double headed piece of bog cotton blowing in the breeze.

 

This beauty was sticking out from under a slab of granite and the heads only measured about a half inch across.

I walked from the village up to An Bhinn Bui which was yet another spectacular cliff with a massive drop. The way, way, way, down below was very beautiful and even though I still get the jitters I'm getting braver ... ish.

This sculpture was the oddest thing I've ever seen. It has been described to me as a glorified bus stop and it does seem to be very incongruous in this setting. I have since found out that it is supposed to represent the story of The Children of Lir. I really can't see how if I'm honest but it was a good place to fix my shoes and socks which were pinching me. (Still wearing the 5 and a halfs!)

I think this section of it was supposed to catch the wind and make music ... but it, like every tin whistle owned by a ten year old, didn't.

The sea seemed to snake in from every direction.

When I left the view point I headed down hill to a tiny peninsula which had boats moored around it and a lovely sheltered beach.

I sat here for quite a while listening to the water and sending pictures to loved ones trying to share the beauty but eventually my tummy rumbled and it was time to go off and do some shopping so I could cook my dinner tonight. The entire road back to Minty was uphill and as I neared him the first drops of rain began to fall. I'd been very lucky that I'd missed it.

Tomorrow I walk to Belmullet. I'm hoping for a dry day. I start early because it's going to be a long one.

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

Total mileage: 444.4 miles