Stages 22 and 23: Fanad Peninsula, Co. Donegal

Stage 22 of Coastal Run: North West Fanad (starting and finishing at Fanad Lodge, Ballyheernan Bay) Sat 25 Aug 2018 (35.4k or 22miles)

Running around coast of Ireland - from Omeath, Co. Louth and keeping sea on my right. 

North West Fanad, Donegal 

I’m back again in the Fanad Peninsula, although sometimes it’s hard to know where Fanad starts and finishes. Back in 1835, the writer John O’Donovan stated ‘’the natives around Rathmullan and Ramelton, who considered themselves civilised, deny that they themselves are men of Fanad’’. So, I’m definitely in 'uncivilised' Fanad today.

I think I'm recovering from my knee injury and have seen two different physios since my last run. Maybe its a sign of ageing as I've also turned 60 since last month's adventure!



View from my bedroom at Fanad Lodge where I started todays run.



 The sun is shining but there’s none of the heat like we had in June and July. Perfect weather for running! So I begin stage 22 by taking a left turn from Fanad Lodge, following the course of the road for about 200 hundred metres until I came to Eelburn Caravan park where I’m able to run through a trail that brought me down onto Ballyheernan beach. This time I take a left when I reach the strand (keeping the sea on my right hand side of course!)

The perfect place to start today's run - Ballyheernan beach

 What a lovely start to today’s run. The tide is out, so there’s perfect sand for running on for about 1k. Even when I leave the beach I continue onto a quiet country road/lane. I’m hoping after a while to get down onto Donaghmore strand on the west coast of Fanad but I can’t see any access as the farms seem to be fenced off. I’m conscious too that the narrow road I’m running on is turning more inland. 

The view from Fanad to Rossguill Peninsula

After a while I come to a T junction and road sign (it says Left to Rinn Bhui and Right to Caiseal) which confuses me and I debate with myself as to which way I should go. I decide to take a left turn (bad mistake!) and I end up back at Ballyheernan Bay, almost where I started!

 



Which way? Yes this junction confused me and I took the wrong option!



I retrace my steps back to the ‘confusing’ junction again and this time I take a right turn. I’m not that confident about this way either and shortly I come to Caiseal Post Office where I ask for help. It turns out I should have turned off to the right before I even reached this ‘confusing’ junction.

A typical road in Fanad

I retrace my steps (even more); take a left turn (still not convinced I’m going the right way!) into a narrow lane which winds up and down through the hills until eventually I come to another junction in front of a lake.  

Plenty of blue skies in Fanad today.

Luckily for me at this point I meet a friendly farmer. I take out my map and he explains exactly where I am. I’m standing right in front of Lake Naglea and he advises me to take a right turn. I continue following this country road, passing Feighan Hill (apt name – yes another feckin hill!). 

Near Feighan Hill on Fanad

However, the steep climb is worth it with magnificant views from the top across to the beaches on Rosguill Peninsula with the hill of Crocknasleigh clearly visibly across the bay.

View from Fanad across to Rosguill with Crocknasleigh hill

I follow this quiet country road (no traffic at all!), eventually passing the sign for the Harry Blaney bridge, continue straight, passing by Leat Beg Church and then I get a glimpse of the new bridge down in the valley to my right.
 

 

 

 

Harry Blaney (Mulroy) Bridge The bridge opened in 2008 and crosses over Mulroy Bay from Fanad to Carrickart. It’s named after Harry Blaney, an independent political who secured its construction by supporting the Fianna Fail Government in 1997. It cost 20 Million Euro to build. Some critics have called it ‘the bridge to nowhere’ but after spending two days in Fanad and speaking to some of the locals, I’ve realised how the bridge has opened up life on the peninsula and connected people from Fanad to Carrickart, Creeslough and even west Donegal.   



Marine Farms near Harry Blaney Bridge

Fuchsia growing in Fanad

 

 

I carry on running east along the bottom part of Fanad and when I come to a small crossroads I decide to take a right turn south towards Muineagh which turns out to be a dead end! However, I do meet a lady there who gives me a glass of water and two mandarin oranges. It’s now 1.00pm and it’s the first drink I’ve had since I started at 10.00 this morning.

Muineagh - at very bottom of Fanad

 Once again I retrace my steps back up the hill to the wee crossroads and take a right turn (east) until I come to a school after 400 metres and I left a left turn (north) up a very narrow road through winding hills.

Hill of the meeting  

Eventually I come to a T junction where I take a right turn which brings me onto the main road towards Kindrum and then left to Fanad Lodge where I’m spending the night. The adventure continues again tomorrow! 

Sign (and sea) at Kindrum - just 1k south of Fanad Lodge 

So glad to see this sign - Only 1km to Fanad Lodge

   

Stage 23: Fanad Lodge (Ballyheernan Bay) to Carrickart, via Millford.  SUNDAY 26 Aug 2018 (39k or 24.5miles)

Starting at Fanad Lodge again and running south to Millford and then north to Carrickart

This plastic bag just fitted in bum bag - glad to have extra shirt when I arrived in Carrickart 

 The forecast for today was rain, rain, rain and it did pour a lot during the night. However it had stopped when I left Fanad Lodge at 10.00 am. Today’s run was really along the main road which was quiet enough at this time of the morning but as the day went on there were more cars on the road.

Just north of Carrowkeel

 

Sign outside Carrowkeeel

 

Millford - heading north towards Carrickart

I stopped very briefly in Carrowkeel (an Cheathru Chaoi) just to take a picture or two and carried on all the way to Millford (also known as Baile na nGalloglach/Gallowglass). I had planned to stop in Millford but there was a kind of ‘by-pass’ which put me on the road to Carrickart... so like Forrest Gump, I just kept running!



     

Too hilly so decided not to go up to town centre in Millford 

 





It’s quite a wooded area just north of Millford and it was here that the infamous Lord Leitrim was murdered 140 years ago.

 

Assassination of Lord Leitrim- 2 April 1878 

Celtic Cross memorial (I took this photo on sunny Saturday)

Lord Leitrim inherited his title and 90,000 acres of land but soon he began incurring the wrath of just about everyone – his tenants, the Church, the judiciary, even the administration at Dublin Castle. All his tenants were served notices-to-quit every April enabling Leitrim to evict them if he so chose when the notices expired six months later. Most hostility against him was centred in Donegal, especially in Fanad where he owned 12,000 acres. Evictions were being carried out and it was only a matter of time before a plot was hatched to assassinate him.

Unknown to Lord Leitrim, three men armed with muzzle loading guns, had crossed Mulroy Bay to Rosguill by boat and were lying in wait for Lord Leitrim to pass by that morning, near Cratlagh Wood while on his way to Millford (a village he owned in its entirety). His assassination was considered a pivotal point in the founding of the Land League the following year. The three men who killed Lord Leitrim were not officially identified until the 1950s and later in 1960 a memorial Celtic Cross was erected at Kindrum. (just a few miles south of Fanad Lodge.)

Slightly ironic sign today, as this was near spot where Lord Leitrim was shot in 1878

  After I leave Millford and Cratlagh Wood the rain starts coming down and this road to Carrickart is getting quite busy.

After passing the village of Cranford I was delighted to bump into another runner (the only other runner I’d seen all weekend!). Her name was Eileen and we stopped to chat and she had some encouraging words for me.


Eileen and I (the only runners out today!)



 

Glad to stop here for refreshments! 

Further on, about 4k before Carrickart, I spotted a shop called ‘The Gap Shop’ and had a cup of tea, some chocolate and a bottle of water to give me some energy over the last few miles. After refreshment I carried on and took a right turn at the big junction for the Harry Blaney Bridge. (now I had seen the bridge from both sides!)

View of climb to Harry Blaney bridge from south side

Last hill of weekend, just before Carrickart

Leaving the bridge I then decided to take the scenic route into Carrickart.


















This scenic way into Carrickart turned out to be a narrow and hilly coastal road but it was traffic free and despite the heavy mist, it was a lovely way to approach and arrive at my destination and finish this weekend’s adventure.

PS. Thank you Brendan from Fanad Lodge who collected me from Carrickart and drove me back to the Lodge to collect my car. At least it was a short drive (about 7 miles) back over the new bridge.       

Finish line at last! 

Total distance to date: 983k or 614miles  

 

Next Stage: Saturday 22 Sept Carrickart to Creeslough (taking in Rosguill peninsula)  

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