Dave Byrnes

Round Ireland - 2016

Overview Planned Schedule Map Diary Pictures

Day:	020
Date:	Wednesday, 13 April 2016
Start:	Allihies
Finish:	Ardgroom
Daily Kilometres:	28
Total Kilometres:	604
Weather:	Cool and overcast all day with a couple of light rain showers.
Accommodation:	Sea Villa B&B
Nutrition:	Breakfast: Full Irish Breakfast Lunch: Muesli bar, Snickers Bar and biscuit Dinner: Tuna sandwich, ham sandwich, caramel slice and choc chip cookie.
Aches:	Sore right knee and right shoulder after awkward fall
Highlight:	Getting a bed in Ardgroom at the third and last B&B anywhere near town. The first didn't answer repeated calls (probably away), the second said she didn't open for the season until May, and the third (5km out of town) gave me a room, even though they were going to be out for the evening when I arrived, leaving the door open for me.
Lowlight:	An awkward fall when one foot slipped while descending, buckling my right knee underneath me (remembering I'm wearing a heavy pack). I instinctively rolled to the right to try and free the knee as I went down and have also damaged my shoulder. However, after catching my breath, I was able to continue with some minor pain where the MCL attaches to the tibia, so am hoping all is OK.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	There was low cloud and fog on the mountains when I left Allihies in cool conditions soon after 9:00am. The Beara Way climbed out of town on a farm path and then a winding old road that used to service the copper mines on the hills surrounding the town. There were ruined mine buildings, slag heaps and barred mine entrances still evident, though I gather mining, which is thought to date back to the Bronze Age ended in the early 20th century. Despite the cloud and haze, the views were good, the winds light and it was peaceful hiking through the evocative old industrial site. Soon, the Beara Way crested a ridge and I was treated to views northward across the entrance to Kenmare Bay with Kerry, where I will be hiking by the weekend, in the far distance. My route left the old farm path it had been following, and I was once more heading cross-country following the Beara Way posts over very soggy upland pastures. I somtimes wonder how long my boots will last when, every day, they are wet (though my feet are dry). The heavy winter rainfall also means that even the most gradual grassy slopes can suddenly become muddy slides, and I fell over about four times at various points, the worst injury being thorns in my hands from the gorse bushes which are everywhere. Soon after noon I reached the very pretty little village of Eyeries where I stopped for a snack. Clearly, great pride is taken in the appearance of the village with the houses all painted different colours and everything neat and tidy. There were a number of tourists wandering around taking photos as I passed through. From Eyeries, the Beara Way descended to follow the rocky coast line for a few kilometres, making a nice change of scene. I watched out for seals and other marine life but didn't see anything. It was all very calm and quiet and I had it to myself (apart from the odd sheep). The final leg of the day was up over a low ridge, again on muddy pastureland, and that's where I had my final and worst fall for the day, painfully momentarily trapping my knee doubled up underneath me. I lay on my side for a few seconds recovering before gingerly getting up, fearing the worst for my already chronically atrophied (through years of running) right knee. Happily, it took my weight without buckling and I carefully resumed hiking with only minor pain. I'm trying to be careful, but the trails are so slippery, it's hard to believe I'm not going to fall many more times before this hike is over. Around 4:15pm I arrived in Ardgroom, aware from my B&B host, that I should get dinner, since the B&B was 5km out of the village. There was just a village store, but they had a deli/cafe and I bought a couple of sandwiches and home-made slices for dinner and packed them in my rucksack. My B&B hosts said they would normally have picked me up from the village but they were away for the evening so I would have to walk to their house, which they would leave open for me. They have promised to drive me back to the village in the morning. The idea of walking an unnecessary 5km did not thrill me, but it passed soon enough on a narrow road bordering the peaceful and scenic Ardgroom harbour which had a lot of mussel beds being farmed in its protected waters. I reached the B&B at 5:30pm and gained access to my room, which has a separate entrance to the house, without a problem. After a shower, I ate the delicious fresh crusty bread sandwiches for dinner and had some time to catch up on email etc. I have a fairly long day tomorrow to get to my booked B&B in the town of Kenmare, so I'm hoping the knee will be OK. Fingers crossed.