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Day: |
051 |
|
Date: |
Saturday, 14 May 2016 |
|
Start: |
Kinvara |
|
Finish: |
Galway |
|
Daily
Kilometres: |
24 |
|
Total
Kilometres: |
1377 |
|
Weather: |
Warm and sunny all day. |
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Accommodation: |
Grange House B&B |
|
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Full Irish Breakfast
Lunch: Muesli bars and chocolate
Dinner: Burger &
chips, jam tarts |
|
Aches: |
None really |
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Highlight: |
None really |
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Lowlight: |
None really |
|
Pictures: |
Here |
|
GPS Track: |
Here |
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Journal: |
After a big breakfast, I left the B&B soon
after 9:00am on a beautiful sunny morning. Kinvara was already
quite busy and the tour buses were rolling through on their
way to The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher from Galway.
I had
opted to follow the main roads to Galway, after calculating that the
shortest route using back roads was at least 5km further. The
road gave lovely views of Kinvara harbour in the morning sunshine
and then passed close to Dunguaire Castle (16th Century) on the
shore of Galway Bay. It was quite busy, with lots of tour
buses, and I frequently climbed into the hedgerow to let streams of
opposing traffic past, but there were other sections where the road
margin was a little wider. I got a fright at one point when a
truck, followed by a car, chose to overtake a tractor coming from
behind me. The first I knew was the truck passing less than a
metre from my left elbow. I'm guessing that so long as I
maintained my line the truck knew there was sufficient room to get
past, but it gave me a momentary scare.
At Kilcogan my route
joined an even busier road, the main route from Galway to Shannon
Airport and Limerick. Fortunately, there was a breakdown lane
nearly the whole way and walking was quite safe, though very noisy
with the high traffic volume. I think a lot of the Irish were
making the most of the forecast excellent weekend weather.
Along the way I passed two churches busy with confirmation services,
and at the second saw a couple of young girls dressed in their
fine white dresses for the big occasion. Listening to the Irish
radio, I'm aware that these are a big deal over here.
I
left the Galway-Limerick road at the small and busy town of Oranmore
and followed a less busy road from there to Galway skirting the
shore of Galway Bay for some of the way. I reached my B&B
which was in a cul-de-sac full of B&B's around 3:00pm and checked in
without problems, glad of a short day.
Later I bought dinner
at a fast food joint, it being the only local option, and was back
at the B&B in plenty of time to do some research into accommodation
for the next two weeks.
|
|
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)
|
