Dave Byrnes

Round Ireland - 2016

Overview Planned Schedule Map Diary Pictures

Day:	068
Date:	Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Start:	Drumlegagh
Finish:	Gortin
Daily Kilometres:	34
Total Kilometres:	1876
Weather:	Warm, breezy and sunny.
Accommodation:	Gortin Hostel
Nutrition:	Breakfast: Full Irish breakfast Lunch: Muesli bars, Snickers Bars and chocolate Dinner: Pizza and apple pie
Aches:	None really
Highlight:	Crossing the summit of Bessy Bell (420m) in the morning sunshine and a crisp breeze with 360° views over the Sperrins.
Lowlight:	Making a careless navigational error that cost me 40 minutes and 3 kilometres of roadwalking in the late morning.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I had an early breakfast (7:30am) along with the other two guests at the B&B and was walking by soon after 8:30am on a bright sunny morning with a cool breeze. Ideal hiking weather, and I enjoyed the steady climb up Bessy Bell (420m) through pine plantations and past wind farms. It was very windy at the top, but the views were superb in all directions, and I enjoyed the moment. Then my navigational troubles started. Firstly, the trail markings that I could find at the summit were ambiguous at best and I had travelled a few hundred metres downhill across rough heathland following a faint trail before deciding that I was headed in the wrong direction. I returned to the summit and used Google maps to work out the direction I should be headed. After crossing a stile I stood on the brow of a slope with excellent visibility ahead and could not see any trail or sign. I used Google maps again to head in the right direction and eventually picked up an old fence line - a completely buried and overgrown stone fence - and decided that was what I was supposed to follow. It was very hard work and slow going, so when I reached a service track for the windfarm I worked out an easier way to intersect with the Ulster Way a little further down the mountain. My route took me through a farmyard, where I wasn't sure I should be, and I encountered the farmer and his son. They were keen for a chat and I talked for 5-10 minutes before continuing on down a narrow lane. After 20 minutes of steady downhill walking, I realised I should have turned off back at the farm, and now was faced with a 3km detour by road to get back on track. I was not happy with myself. An hour or so later, I found a nice spot in the sun up against a paddock gate and stopped for a break. I had just set myself up, a process which involves retrieving a groundsheet from the back of my pack and snacks and drinks from deep inside where I hope they will remain cooler. I needed to make some phone calls to sort out accommodation for the next few nights and was in the middle of the first when a farmer arrived and very apologetically said he needed to open the gate to move some cows. He said he only opens this gate every two weeks or so, and my timing was bad. We had a nice chat and he told me how he had worked at St George in the Queensland outback some years ago. I moved 30 metres down the road and had my break and made my calls. From there I followed a series of backroads across the Strule River valley and then climbed up through pine plantations on the other side and over Tirmurty Hill, getting more good views along the way. From there, the Ulster Way descended into the Gortin Glen Forest Park, a recreation area, and along some nice foot trails that followed a clear mountain stream down a series of falls. I still hadn't been able to book accommodation for tonight at the Gortin Hostel, the only accommodation option in the vicinity, so made another call from a picnic area and finally confirmed I could have a room. From there, despite another small navigational mishap, I travelled the last six or so kilometres on some forest trails and then a main road down into Gortin and the Hostel, where I was met by Damian who checked me in soon after 6pm. I have booked for two nights because it's too far to get to the next accommodation along the Ulster Way in one day from Gortin. My plan is to walk at least 20km tomorrow to a point where the trail crosses a road where I can get a bus that will bring me back to Gortin. There are only two scheduled bus services each day, one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon, in both directions, so I need to make sure I reach the road in plenty of time. The following day, I will catch the morning bus back out to where I catch the incoming bus from tomorrow, if all goes to plan. I have been given a nice big family room, with ensuite, by Damian for the princely sum of £15 per night, so am not complaining. I think there are some New Zealanders staying here and I hope to chat with them tomorrow evening. I was too late and had too much to do tonight. After a shower, I got a pizza for dinner from the village shop. There's no internet or mobile phone coverage in this village so I'm not sure when this will get posted given that I'm back here again tomorrow night.