Dave Byrnes' Adventures

Round Ireland - 2016
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Day: 016 
Date: Saturday, 9 April 2016
Start: Ballyvourney
Finish: Gougane Barra
Daily Kilometres: 27
Total Kilometres: 497
Weather: Cold and sunny in the morning, very cold with some sun mixed with rain and sleet in the afternoon.
Accommodation: Gougane Barra Hotel
Nutrition: Breakfast:  Cereal, scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, toast
Lunch:  Rocky road slice, muesli bar and chocolate
Dinner:  Roast chicken and vegetables, with rhubarb crumble and custard for dessert
Aches: None really
Highlight: For an hour or so in the afternoon, I was walking on the edge of a weather system in slow falling sleet/snow with the sun shining on me.
Lowlight: Time wasted trying find a store before leaving Ballyvourney in the morning, though it worked out OK in the end.
Pictures: Here
GPS Track: Here
Journal: The cars and beer garden tables outside the hotel were covered with a layer of frozen sleet as I left the hotel just before 9:00am in bright sunshine and nippy temperatures.  I was hoping, on my way out of town, to find a store to replenish my snacking supplies but even after detouring half a kilometre could see I was going to have to detour a lot more.  I compromised and stopped in at a cafe and bought a few drinks and a slice for later in the day.

My route out of town crossed an old stone bridge and then began climbing steadily along a picturesque narrow country lane.  Before long I was into the high pasture lands with fields full of sheep and lambs.  I noted that contrary to earlier in the trip when it seemed there was always only one lamb per ewe, every ewe now seemed to have two or three lambs.  I'm sure there's an obvious explanation.  Anyway, watching the multiple lambs run with fright at my approach, and then fight for the comfort of their mother's teat, provided entertainment throughout the day.

Most of the day was spent travelling little-used rural roads in open country, gradually climbing over a succession of broad ridges.  There were few trees and it stayed clear until late in the day, so there were always plenty of views including some distant snow-topped mountains and some interesting-looking weather fronts.  There were some occasional cross-country sections through farmland, but no forests today.

Early in the afternoon I reached the village of Ballingeary and resupplied with drink and snacks to cover tomorrow as well.  I was staying in an isolated hotel tonight and there wouldn't a store, and drinks and meals would be expensive.  While I had a snack outside the store at a picnic table it began raining lightly and it looked like the weather was deteriorating in the west with a haze over the mountains that was probably rain.

The temperature dropped in the last couple of hours walking and although I was mostly in weak sunshine, there were extended periods of light sleet/snow, though it wasn't settling on the ground.  Eventually, in the distance I could see Gougane Barra Lake, my destination for the day, and reached the hotel there at 4:00pm.

I received a friendly greeting, though I fear I will be the lowest common denominator amongst the clientele.  There is a chapel on a small island in the adjacent lake and it looked like a wedding reception was in progress in the hotel.

I accepted the invitation to join the 6:00pm dinner sitting, knowing that I was likely to be in for an expensive meal, but not having much choice.  I went for the cheapest two-course option, which was very tasty and well-presented, but telling myself that it would be pizza tomorrow.

I've noticed a gradual change in the terrain over the last day or so, as rocks and rocky bluffs become more apparent in an increasingly barren landscape.  I guess I'm getting closer to the Atlantic coast, and will reach it tomorrow.  The hotel proprietor wants to talk to me in the morning about tomorrow's hike over the nearby mountains given a poor weather forecast, but I'm sure I will be OK.

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)

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