Day: |
030 |
Date: |
Saturday, 23 April 2016 |
Start: |
Castlemaine |
Finish: |
Anascaul |
Daily
Kilometres: |
26 |
Total
Kilometres: |
855 |
Weather: |
Cool and overcast at first, then mostly
sunny |
Accommodation: |
Ardrinane House B&B |
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Cereal, scrambled eggs and
smoked salmon, toast and jam Lunch: Muesli bars and
chocolate Dinner: Sausages, vegetables and chips, ice-cream
and apple tarts |
Aches: |
None really |
Highlight: |
The vast expanse of Inch Strand, a famous
beach at the entrance to Castlemaine Harbour, location for some
scenes in the movie Ryan's Daughter. |
Lowlight: |
The roadwalk from Castlemaine to Inch along
a busy two-lane road with virtually no roadside margin. I
probably had to step off the road into a hedge about every five
minutes on average, so that cars travelling in both directions could
get past me. On the plus side, the motorists were invariably
considerate and it went quicker than I expected. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
Here |
Journal: |
I left Castlemaine at 9:00am, a bit
apprehensive about the 20km roadwalk along a busy road to the
village of Inch where I would connect with the Dingle Way.
Generally, I try to find back roads, but there were none for this
leg, so I resigned myself to staying alert and dodging cars for four
hours.
I wasn't alone, meeting a runner coming the other way
early on (glad, as a runner, that I don't live nearby), and a lot of
Saturday morning recreational cyclists out for a spin on a beautiful
day. It was tedious at times, constantly having to step into
the hedgerows to give cars room to pass, but it passed quickly
enough and I joined the Dingle Way at Inch before 1:00pm.
The
trail climbed behind the village, giving a great view of Inch
Strand, a vast flat stretch of sand backed by dunes at the entrance
to Castlemaine Harbour. It has featured in a few films, most
notably Ryan's Daughter. Behind it, across the bay, were the
mountains of the Iveragh Peninsula and the Kerry Way where I had
been walking a few days earlier. By the topology, I could work
out exactly where I had been hiking. It seemed a long way
away.
From Inch, the Dingle Way climbed over the shoulder of
Brickany Mountain along a narrow old farm road before descending on
a sealed road into the village of Anascaul, my destination for the
day. I followed some weekend walkers into the village and
quickly found my B&B, arriving at 3:00pm. After a shower, I
had a wander around the village before returning to the B&B to watch
some rugby in the lounge while catching up on email and some other
chores.
I went to the pub across the road for dinner, just
sneaking in before the cook went home at 6:00pm, the second time
I've almost been caught out in the last week, and after a walk
around town and an ice-cream returned to the B&B. |
|
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)
|