Dave Byrnes' Adventures

Round Ireland - 2016
Overview     Planned Schedule     Map     Diary     Pictures
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)

(Previous Page)

(Next Page)

You can email Dave directly at dave@davebyrnes.com.au or subscribe to his Adventure Blogs here.

You can see Dave's Running Blog here.