Dave Byrnes

Round Ireland - 2016

Overview Planned Schedule Map Diary Pictures

Day:	005
Date:	Tuesday, 29 March 2016
Start:	Tinahely
Finish:	Bunclody
Daily Kilometres:	40
Total Kilometres:	150
Weather:	Cold and breezy all day. Mostly sunny in the morning and mostly cloudy, with a few light showers in the afternoon
Accommodation:	Weston House B&B
Nutrition:	Breakfast: Full Irish breakfast Lunch: Fruit, muesli bars and Snickers bar Dinner: Corn chips, chicken and lettuce sandwiches, and chocolate
Aches:	Very tired feet
Highlight:	Finding the B&B had a room at the end of a very long day.
Lowlight:	Following the Wicklow Way on a meandering route through a pine forest that turned out was being heavily logged when common sense suggested sticking to the road I was on and saving myself 4km towards the end of a long day.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	Madeline, the B&B host, confessed to me while I was eating a huge breakfast that I had been overcharged for my room through Booking.com. The reality, I think, is that she doesn't have it configured to cater for solo travellers occupyng double rooms. Anyway, she was very apologetic and said she couldn't refund the money, but would like to make me a big lunch to take with me on the trail. Even though I had already purchased snacks for the next few days, and didn't really want the extra weight in my pack, I accepted her kind offer. I think she really felt bad about it, and I almost got a big kiss and cuddle as I left shortly before 9:00am. I had hoped to leave earlier, but it always seems to take longer than expected, and I screwed around a bit, unsuccessfully, trying to download some ABC podcasts to listen to while walking. The reason for wanting to leave earlier was that, in the worst case scenario, I was going to walk a long way today. I would reach the end of the Wicklow Way at Clonegal in 35km, but there was no evidence after much web surfing of any accommodation around Clonegal, or indeed for about 20km before then. I was kind of hoping that there would be an unlisted B&B at Clonegal, but if not, the only likely accommodation was at Bunclody, another 5km further. Anyway, this was all in the back of my mind as I walked out of Tinahely on a perfect day for hiking and I really enjoyed the rest of the morning travelling along old farm paths and narrow laneways through more beautiful rural country. The birds were singing, roosters crowing, sheep and lambs bleating and even a very loud donkey braying from somewhere down in the valley below. Conscious of how far I might have to go I decided to break the day into roughly 10km sections with a 20 minute break after each, and that's pretty much the way the day turned out. For the most part, the Wicklow Way followed the usual country lanes, but in a few places ventured higher up into some pine forests where there were extensive views. Clouds rolled in during the afternoon and at times it got very cold, but was still good hiking weather which helped me maintain my pace, more or less. Inevitably, I got more tired as the day wore on and was relieved to finally reach the little village Clonegal and the end of the Wicklow Way about 5:30pm. There was no evidence of any accommodation, and a few showers and the cold wind made everything seem quite bleak. I tried calling the most likely B&B in Bunclody, but couldn't get an answer. It was reasonably priced and near the centre of town, the two most important criteria. I decided to take my chances and walk to Bunclody and the B&B, reckoning that if it was closed or full, I would find a room at one of the other hostelries in town that were advertised on the web. The rain cleared, and although I was very tired and ready for the day to end, the walk wasn't too bad in some late afternoon sunshine, though the road was busy in parts. I arrived at the B&B shortly before 7:00pm and received a warm welcome and a room. I was exhausted, almost shakey, but all in all was happy with the day. After a warming shower I wandered into town and bought a few snacks to augment the chicken sandwiches Madeline had provided this morning which I ate for dinner. Finding B&B's in this part of the country is going to be a little harder than anticipated, with few possibilites for tomorrow night. I'll call one in the morning which is on the South Leinster Way, my next waymarked track, but even though it's the nearest, it will still be about 30km and is not in a town, meaning dinner could be problematic. Before leaving tomorrow, I intend to have a cull of my rucksack and will mail back to London a number of items I think I can safely do without. More room and less weight is good.