Day: |
042 |
Date: |
Thursday, 5 May 2016 |
Start: |
Limerick |
Finish: |
Killaloe |
Daily
Kilometres: |
27 |
Total
Kilometres: |
1158 |
Weather: |
Mostly sunny in the morning and overcast in
the afternoon |
Accommodation: |
Blossom Hill B&B |
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Full Irish Breakfast
Lunch: Muesli bars and chocolate Dinner: Chicken
Tikka Masala & rice, fruit trifle. |
Aches: |
None really |
Highlight: |
None really |
Lowlight: |
Problems with finding accommodation for the
next few days will mean that I don't walk as much of the East Clare
Way and Mid Clare Way as planned. They were not originally on
my itinerary, so not that big a deal. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
Here |
Journal: |
After another all-you-can-eat buffet
breakfast at the hotel, I waddled round to the laundry/bootmaker and
picked up my left boot which had been left in a clamp overnight to
seal a repair. It looked good and I thanked the very helpful
proprietor who insisted that any payment went into the charity
collection box, which is what I did.
I left the hotel about
9:30am and walked north through downtown Limerick in bright sunshine
enjoying the sight of everybody heading to another day's work.
It felt good to be walking, though I was a little disappointed that
my pack didn't feel that much lighter after mailing back 3.2kg of
gear yesterday. It feels lighter hoisting it up onto my
shoulders, but after that no real difference, though it must improve
things at the margin.
I followed the Lough Derg Way along a
canal out of town and saw quite a few runners and walkers.
After a kilometre or two, one of the runners I had seen earlier
passed me on her return and stopped to warn me that the Lough Derg
Way was closed ahead and that I might have to detour. I hoped
she was exaggerating, but she was correct and there was a high
locked barrier that I had no chance of getting around blocking the
way ahead. Annoyingly, there were no redirection signs so I
consulted the map and worked out that by detouring via some roads I
could rejoin the trail in about 5km.
The detour worked fine
and soon I was enjoying the grassy surface of the very high bank
beside the Headrace Canal, which diverts water from the River
Shannon to generate power. Grazing sheep kept the grass short,
making it almost lawn-like and the height of the bank gave good
views over the rural countryside and villages. Thereafter, the
trail followed an old disused canal for a while before reaching the
wide River Shannon and turning upstream. After another section
along the Headrace Canal, the Lough Derg Way left the river and
followed some quiet back roads into Killaloe my destination for the
day. The village is famous for being the home of Brian Boru,
the King of Ireland, in the early 11th Century.
After
checking into my B&B I spent some time trying to work out where I
would stay tomorrow night. I failed to find any accommodation
along the East Clare Way, my next trail, and ended up choosing a
different route. My frustration was compounded by a serious
bug in my email software which had prevented me downloading any
email. It has been playing up for a while, but has really
crashed now. After sorting out tomorrow night's accommodation,
I walked into the historic and picturesque village for a look around
before getting a curry at the local Indian and returning to my room
to try and solve my email problem.
Because I have had to
rejig my route for the next few days, and because I still have some
route-planning and chores to finish, my re-jigged route will give me
another day off in Ennis on Sunday without setting me back on my
schedule. |
|
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)
|