Dave Byrnes

Round Ireland - 2016

Overview Planned Schedule Map Diary Pictures

Day:	057
Date:	Friday, 20 May 2016
Start:	Newport
Finish:	Bangor Erris
Daily Kilometres:	40
Total Kilometres:	1564
Weather:	Overcast with occasional drizzle in the morning and rain of varying intensity all afternoon
Accommodation:	Hillcrest House B&B
Nutrition:	Breakfast: Full Irish Breakfast Lunch: Muesli bars and chocolate Dinner: Baked salmon & vegetables, apple tart & cream
Aches:	Sore feet
Highlight:	Passing through the remotest Irish countryside yet - a series of uninhabited valleys flanked by treeless mountains and separated by mountain passes. Despite the constant rain and endless bogs, it was an awesome day.
Lowlight:	I could say, missing a turn on the Western Way and ending up walking the Bangor Trail instead, which meant a much longer day and more distance, but it was a mistake worth making.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I left the B&B at 9:00am, and after walking along a main road out of town, turned to follow the Western Way on a minor road that gradually became less used as it climbed away from the coast following the side of a ridge. To the left were good views across Lough Feeagh though intermittent drizzle and fog interfered sometimes. There followed some virtually cross-country walking on an old grassy farm road before it descended through some pretty groves of rhododendron to Derrybrook. After a kilometre or two of road-walking the Western Way left to follow a forest road and soon ended up at a forest car park. It was raining and the signage was confusing. I couldn't find a sign for the Western Way, but could find some ambiguous signage for the Bangor Trail (not marked on my map), which I knew the Western Way followed to some point. I decided to follow the Bangor Trail markings for the time being. I knew it would eventually end up at Bangor Erris, which was where I had a B&B booked, but I had been planning to get there by bus from Bellacorrick where the Western Way crossed a main road. I was sure the Bangor Trail would be a longer hike, but thought that it was doable if my navigation turned out to be in error. After some steady climbing on a rocky and very wet trail for a few kilometres, there was a trail intersection, but no mention of the Western Way. I thought the junction I was looking for might be further on, but it never came. In retrospect, I must have missed a marker back at the car park. So the rest of the day was spent following the Bangor Trail across wild (for Ireland) country along a trail that became rougher, wetter and boggier the further I went. The rain was almost continual, but often light so the views were still impressive. The Trail wound its way from valley to valley via low mountain passes with no signs of human habitation, though there were sheep. Around 3:30pm, I came across a sheep dragging itself off the trail with apparently a broken back or broken rear legs. I thought I could find a large rock and try to put it out of its misery, or leave it in the hope that whoever owned it would find it in the next few days (it could still eat and drink). Perhaps selfishly, as I later reflected, I left it to its fate. It was raining and I had a long way to go, and maybe that influenced my decision. Soon after, around 3:30pm, I reached a vandalised shelter that had a Bangor Trail map in it, confirming my navigation error and indicating that I had many kilometres to go. My best guess from the map was that I still had five hours of walking, but that was a big guess. I had my second and last break for the day in the shelter (most of its roof had gone so it was pretty useless in the weather) and pressed on, hoping that when I got to the top of the next pass I would have phone reception so that I could call the B&B, which was providing me with dinner. I did that, but had to leave a voice-mail and hoped Evelyn, the proprietor, received it. The rough track was extremely hard work. I had to keep trying to work out what was less boggy, and occasionally nearly had a boot sucked off. It's incredible how much water the vegetation holds, especially in constant rain, and for a lot of the time it was like walking on a sodden sponge. In other places where the path was rocky, it was a raging stream or a deep puddle because of the rain, and I just splashed along in an inch or two or three of water, rather than wear myself out trying to dodge the water. I had no maps for this section, and tried to remember the topology from the map back in the shelter to work out my progress. I knew that a river crossing was coming near the end, and when I got there found no bridge and the river wide. After a few minutes trying to find a spot shallow enough to wade through without getting water in my boots, I gave up. Plan B was to put on my gaiters, for the first time in the trip, which might allow me to get through deeper water without getting water in my boots, provided I was quick. And that's what happened, I splashed across as fast as I could and didn't feel my feet get soaked, though they already felt a bit damp. From there it was another mountain pass and more extremely rough, boggy and wet trail before I got the sense it was leaving the mountains. I called Evelyn again about 7:15pm and said I would be there in roughly an hour (guessing) and she insisted that she would still provide dinner. It actually took ninety minutes to finally get to Bangor Erris and Evelyn then insisted on taking my wet outer gear to dry and after a shower gave me an excellent salmon dinner. There are two other hikers here travelling in the opposite direction who also got very wet today. I had a brief chat with them while eating. Because I'm further west than intended, I now have further to go tomorrow to get to my next booked B&B (there's nothing in between). I think tomorrow is going to be a long and hard day on tired legs and feet.