Dave Byrnes

Round Ireland - 2016

Overview Planned Schedule Map Diary Pictures

Day:	053
Date:	Monday, 16 May 2016
Start:	Oughterard
Finish:	Maum
Daily Kilometres:	24
Total Kilometres:	1433
Weather:	Mild and sunny with a cool breeze at times
Accommodation:	Tiernakill Farm B&B
Nutrition:	Breakfast: Fruit & yoghurt, scrambled eggs, toast & jam Lunch: Muesli bars and chocolate Dinner: Two cheese & ham sandwiches, rhubarb crumble.
Aches:	None worth mentioning
Highlight:	The morning walk following the southern shore of a dead calm Lough Corrib along a sun-dappled country lane.
Lowlight:	None really
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I woke to yet another sunny day, and after a quick walk back into town to post a birthday card to my father (92!), started walking at 9:20am on the Western Way. The first 15km was along a minor road that followed the southern shore of Lough Corrib, gradually getting closer to the lakeshore itself. The elevated road gave good views over the millpond-smooth lake which was dotted by small islands. Behind rose tree-less mountains with the yellow patches of gorse visible on the lower slopes and white farmhouses here and there. In places, the road dipped into beautiful sun-dappled leafy glades sometimes coloured by spring blooms including some rhododendron. Along the way, there were also expensive-looking houses and well-manicured thatched cottages. Near the end of the road, I enjoyed my first break on a sunny grassy slope overlooking the lake. Very peaceful. High overhead were the parallel contrails of jets bound for North America from Europe, a trip I regularly made years ago, rarely thinking about Connemara far below and never imagining I would be looking up at the jets from there 20+ years later. At the end of the road, the Western Way turned inland on a well-made boardwalk that turned out to be 5km long as it wended its way across bogs, moorland, small rivers and through pine forests. It was an enjoyable change, though I was ready for something else after 5km. After another break, there was a roadwalk over a low saddle between treeless mountains and then a descent into the beautiful Failmore and Bealanabrack River valleys. I reached my B&B, on a working farm, soon after 3:30pm and more tired than I expected. It seems that, no matter how far each day's distance, the mind knows when there is 5km remaining and tells the body it's OK to start complaining. Later I walked the 3km round trip into Maum, which consists of a service station/shop and a pub, to find some dinner. I asked the friendly shop manager whether they had sandwiches. He said no, but that the pub would make me a sandwich. I asked him whether they had hot food as well, and he said they would toast the sandwich. Ask a silly question...... So, I bought a couple of sandwiches at the pub and walked back to the B&B to eat them. While in the village, I had a call from Neil, a running friend from back in Australia who is touring Ireland with his wife and daughter. They are going to meet me tomorrow morning at the B&B and join me for some, or all, the day's walk, which will be fun.