Day: |
013 |
Date: |
Wednesday, 6 April 2016 |
Start: |
Fermoy |
Finish: |
Mallow |
Daily
Kilometres: |
31 |
Total
Kilometres: |
408 |
Weather: |
Sunny, cold and breezy at first, with an
increasing number of rain and hail squalls as the day wore on. |
Accommodation: |
The Roundabout Inn |
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Cereal, scrambled eggs and
toast Lunch: Muesli bars and chocolate Dinner:
Shepherd's Pie, chips and chocolate-chip cookies |
Aches: |
Nothing new |
Highlight: |
Discovering I had indeed packed my laptop,
when after hiking for a couple of hours, I convinced myself that I
had left it on the bed at the B&B. |
Lowlight: |
Woke up with a headache which persisted all
day. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
Here |
Journal: |
Last night, after a fruitless search for a
B&B for tonight along my planned route, the Blackwater Way, I
realised that until I get to the more touristy west coast, I'm going
to have to compromise on my planned route. Eventually, after
considering the possibility of staying for a second night in the
very nice B&B in Fermoy and recovering from two long days, I decided
to head for the sizeable town of Mallow. Using the official
Blackwater Way for most of the trip would have involved an
undesirable 45km day, so I resolved to go the most direct route
using minor roads which looked more like 30km.
I left the B&B
just before 9:30am in cold brisk conditions and followed the
Blackwater Way for the first few kilometres along the southern bank
of the River Blackwater. Despite the cold, it was a beautiful
walk, though steadily got muddier and more eroded. When the
foot-trail finally emerged on a minor road, there was a sign saying
the track was closed because of storm damage, but there had been no
warning at the other end. There were a few tricky bits, one
where a long stretch of fence had fallen on the trail and another
where a section had collapsed into the valley below, but quite
manageable.
Once on the road, that's where I stayed for the
rest of the day, parallelling the River Blackwater upstream.
Up until the last five kilometres, the road was quiet, with most
drivers giving me a wave. A catholic priest stopped for a chat
when he saw me for the third time as he travelled back and forth on
his pastoral work. He is walking a part of the Santiago de
Compostela in the summer and was nervous of his fitness (though he
looked healthy enough to me). I saw him yet again an hour or
so later, and suspect there were other drivers who saw me multiple
times during the day.
The river valley provided nice rural
scenery and I passed many working farms along with expensive-looking
houses. There was always something to look at. As the
day wore on, the weather deteriorated and I was hit by a number of
rain and hail squalls, each accompanied by strong winds and
plummeting temperatures. However, my gear was adequate and I
just kept plodding on.
I reached my hotel B&B in Mallow, a
large industrial town, about 4:45pm and checked in, glad of some
time to try and sort out my email software which has been
misbehaving since the weekend. I've mostly resolved the
problems, but apologies to any people waiting for a response.
I had dinner in the hotel, which is a bit down-market, and
wasn't that impressed with the shepherd's pie, which came with a
very thick layer of cheese-covered potato covering a very thin layer
of meat in which I counted two peas. Just in case I didn't
have enough potato, it came with a bowl of fries!
After
dinner I wandered into a supermarket in town for a few snacks and
drinks and returned to my room eagerly anticipating an early night.
Before dinner, my research had again failed to unearth a suitably
located B&B for tomorrow night, so tomorrow will mostly be another
road walk like today, which is OK but not my preference. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
(2016)
Hume & Hovell Walking Track
(2013)
Via Alpina
(2012)
Australian Alps Walking
Track (2011)
Land's End to John O'Groats
(2010)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2009)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2008)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)
Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)
Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)
Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)
Three Peaks Race
(2004)
Appalachian Trail
(1986)
Alpine Track
(1983)
|