Dave Byrnes

Round Ireland - 2016

Overview Planned Schedule Map Diary Pictures

Day:	019
Date:	Tuesday, 12 April 2016
Start:	Adrigole
Finish:	Allihies
Daily Kilometres:	34
Total Kilometres:	576
Weather:	Sunny all day with a cool wind at altitude.
Accommodation:	Seaview Guesthouse
Nutrition:	Breakfast: Full Irish Breakfast Lunch: Jam tarts and ice-cream Dinner: Hamburger, chips and salad, and apple crumble and custard
Aches:	None really
Highlight:	From my B&B window, an exquisite sunset over a calm Atlantic ocean, with orange rays illuminating white farm houses along the peaceful Irish coast.
Lowlight:	When I asked my B&B hostess from last night, as she was driving me back to Adrigole, why she did not have her B&B sign out yet, hearing that her 38-y-o son had died four weeks early without warning from an undiagnosed heart problem, and that she was having trouble getting motivated for the new tourist season.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I had breakfast at 8:00am and then Jane drove me back to Adrigole, on the way relating the very sad tale of how her son had died just four weeks ago, totally unexpectedly, from an undiagnosed heart problem. It seemed an incongruously sad story on such a beautiful spring morning. I started walking soon after 9:00am, somewhat apprehensive about the task I had set myself for the day. Because of where accommodation was available, I had to choose between a very short day and a very long day, and chose the latter. The problem was that I really wasn't sure how long the day was going to be. I knew it was roughly 33 kilometres, but also knew that there was going to be a lot of cross-country and mountain climbing, both of which made for slow going. Oh well, I had booked the B&B and knew I would eventually get there, it was just a question of when. The day started with a country-lane walk out of town before climbing up the flank of Hungry Hill (685m), the local landmark. Wisely, I had stripped to T-shirt and shorts before starting the climb because it got warm. But the skies were clear and the views magnificent, and I'm in the hiking groove now and can just keep plodding along without getting overly tired. Once over the mountain flank, I could see the town of Castletownbere in the distance, and behind that, the mountains I had to negotiate to reach Allihies, my target for the day. It seemed a very long way away, and I wasn't taking the most direct route. I then had quite a few hours of crossing mostly track-less uplands pasture and exposed rock outcrops following the little posts that marked the Beara Way. It was boggy and scrambly in parts meaning that I was constantly looking for the best line to take which can be time-consuming. But the fantastic views and still and sunny conditions made it a very pleasant hike. I eventually reached the small port of Castletownbere soon after 2:30pm and had my second break for the day sitting by the harbour eating an ice-cream and downing a cold drink. I was a bit later than I hoped, but was counting on the next section being less challenging. I was wrong, and after an initial roadwalk, I was soon climbing the flank of another mountain, Miskish, and following the familiar posts cross-country. It was very windy and quite cold when I reached a ridge and turned southwest, but again the views were more than adequate compensation. On descending from the ridge, I encountered a temporary sign saying the Beara Way was closed. It was a bit late to tell me, and I wasn't going to backtrack, so I continued on through a pine forest that was being logged. There were a few parts where it was extremely boggy and another where a number of felled trees lay across the trail, but there was nobody about and I just negotiated the obstacles as best I could. It was starting to get late, and I wasn't amused by the brutal hill that I next encountered, climbing 210 metres vertically in 1.4 kilometres, but was pleased with how quickly I reached the top. From there it was a more gentle descent towards Allihies with a peaceful Atlantic and various peninsulas and islands spread out before me. Magic! I reached my B&B right on 6:30pm, showered and then visited the local pub for dinner (a bit over-priced) before retiring to my room happy with my day, but a bit wiser about my average speed on the more challenging country. I have now reached the most south-westerly point of my journey and now start working my way north along the west coast.