Day: |
077 |
Date: |
Thursday, 9 June 2016 |
Start: |
Glenarm |
Finish: |
Ballynure |
Daily
Kilometres: |
33 |
Total
Kilometres: |
2131 |
Weather: |
Mild and foggy to mid-afternoon, then warm
and hazy |
Accommodation: |
Derrin House B&B, Larne |
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Fruit & yoghurt, scrambled
eggs and smoked salmon, toast & jam Lunch: Muesli bars,
Snickers Bars and chocolate Dinner: Two sandwiches, fruit
trifle |
Aches: |
None |
Highlight: |
Discovering there was a late bus from
Ballynure to Larne, where I had a B&B booked, so that I did not have
to hitch-hike or get a cab. |
Lowlight: |
I walked past many spectacular views today,
but didn't see any of them because of thick fog. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
Here |
Journal: |
I left the very nice B&B around 9am, and
after passing through Glenarm village, began a long climb on a quiet
backroad into the Atrim Hills. After 3km, the waymarked trail
left the road and continued climbing across sheep pastures and
moorland up to Black Hill (381m).
The views would have been
fantastic, but the fog was so thick that finding the next trail
marker was difficult enough and the trail itself ranged from faint
to non-existent. And this was the way it continued for the the
next five hours. The terrain was mostly good for walking,
though there were some boggy sections, and I could tell I was
passing over a series of mountain tops and along the edge of some
precipitous bluffs. But the visibility did not get any better,
and I had to comfort myself with the thought that this was the first
time on my walk around Ireland that the views had been totally
stymied by the weather.
I was just thinking to myself that I
had not seen anybody all day when the shape of a hiker with a pack
of similar size to mine emerged from the fog. It turned out to
be a young Irish guy on the second day of his hike along the Ulster
Way and we had a long chat. He had blisters from his new boots
and no maps, and I feared he was already doubting the wisdom of his
journey. I tried to be encouraging, telling him that if he
stuck it out for a week or two, it would get easier, but I suspect
he was in for a tough few days.
Eventually, the trail
descended from the higher elevations and it became hazy rather than
foggy, and warmer. I crossed a main road about 3:45pm, knowing
that it was on a bus route that would get me to Larne, where I had
booked a B&B. However, my goal for the day, Ballynure, was
another 11km further on, and I decided to keep walking though I was
now sure I would miss the last bus from there to Larne.
The
Antrim Hills Way (part of the Ulster Way) now passed through the
Ballyboley Forest before beginning a frustrating descent into the
Six Mile Water valley and Ballynure. Frustrating because it
took a very indirect route when I was keen to get there and sort out
my transportation to Larne. As it turned out there was a last
bus to Larne at 7:11pm, about 50 minutes after I arrived in the
village, which was good news. I used the time to buy and eat a
couple of sandwiches from the service station opposite the bus stop
as dinner.
The empty bus duly arrived at 7:11pm and I had a
top speed chauffered trip into Larne, 20 minutes away. My B&B
was 10 minutes walk from the bus station and I checked in without
the need to go out later for food. Another long but satisfying
day, despite the fog. Most of the Antrim Hills Way was
runnable, so I look forward to returning some time to see the views. |
|
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)
|