Day: |
066 |
Date: |
Sunday, 29 May 2016 |
Start: |
Belleek |
Finish: |
Ederney |
Daily
Kilometres: |
33 |
Total
Kilometres: |
1811 |
Weather: |
Warm and sunny to late afternoon, then
thunderstorms and heavy rain |
Accommodation: |
Glendarragh Valley Inn |
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Full Irish Breakfast
Lunch: Muesli bars and chocolate Dinner: Chicken
pieces, salad & chips, fruit trifle |
Aches: |
Some chafing from wet shorts |
Highlight: |
The vast Lough Erne, dotted with
tree-covered islands, and backed by hazy hills. |
Lowlight: |
There were a few today, but the worst was
slogging along flooded busy and narrow roads in a torrential
downpour for the last hour of a long day of roadwalking. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
Here |
Journal: |
There was quite a lot of noise at the hotel
B&B overnight with drinkers outside and wedding guests returning in
the small hours, but I still got a good night's sleep.
Annoyingly, though the advertised breakfast time was between 8am and
10am, I was told that the earliest I could get it was 9am. Not
a big deal, but I had a long day of roadwalking ahead and was keen
for an early start. It became doubly annoying when breakfast
was not ready until 9:15am and I didn't get on the road until
10:15am.
It had been a warm night and looked like being a
warm day. The sun was shining and there was a heavy haze
limiting the views. I had discovered yesterday that this is a
long weekend in the UK (but not in Ireland), which helps explain why
I had some trouble finding accommodation, and why there were so many
tourists about. It was already quite busy and I was soon into
my routine of eyeballing every approaching driver and being ready to
jump off the road surface onto the verge or into a hedge if there
was no sign of them giving me space. It was going to be a long
day.
The scenery was rural, though there were some
heath-covered mountains visible to the north through the haze.
As I approached the western end of Lough Erne, there was some relief
from the sun when the road passed through some old forests, but I
was soon back out in the sun and on the shore of the vast lake which
stretched out to the east and was home to a number of tree-covered
islands and recreational fishing boats. I took my first break
at a small picnic area around 12:30pm with a view over the lake.
It was warm and my chocolate was melting.
The road I was
following was even busier in the afternoon, with many vehicles
travelling at high speed and close together. It was not very
relaxing, and I kept thinking about how much better tomorrow would
be when I get off-road again. My road crossed onto Boa Island,
a long thin island that separated the Lower Lough Erne from the
Upper Lough Erne, and for a while I could see water on both sides.
I took a second break around 3pm under increasingly threatening
skies, but it stayed dry for another hour or so until large drops
began falling. I persevered in my shorts and T-shirt in the
hope it would pass over, but was quite wet by the time I reached a
service station where I looked for a few supplies. When I was
ready to leave it was raining steadily so I donned my raincoat and
was glad I did as it quickly got heavier. Soon I was sploshing
along the very wet road, or more often along the saturated grass
verge, getting wetter by the second. My boots started getting
water in them because I was only wearing shorts and I regretted not
putting on my rainpants as well.
I passed through the village
of Kesh with an hour to go, rain pouring down amidst occasional
flashes of lightning and claps of thunder. Many drivers slowed
as they passed and I fancied I could see pity in their eyes, while a
couple drove carelessly through large puddles on the road,
saturating me with water. I was starting to get cold and my
shorts were chafing to add to my misery but I just kept plodding on,
knowing that I would get to my night's accommodation eventually if I
just kept going.
I reached Ederney at 6pm and presented
myself at the reception desk of my B&B dripping water everywhere.
The girl wanted me to fill in a registration form which was pretty
much illegible by the time I finished. It's a pricey
hotel/B&B, but the room is good. I showered and rinsed out my
wet gear, hoping that the room heater eventually comes on to dry
them and my boots out. Otherwise I will be wearing wet gear
tomorrow.
Later I went into town and bought a few things for
the next few days and some take-out dinner. General Entries
for the GNW100s trail race open at midnight, my time, tonight so I
will stay up or wake up to make sure it works as it should. |
|
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)
|