Running around Ireland - strictly by the coast - and ONCE a
Month since Feb 2017.
‘’The central place I call “Z” is in a valley surmounted by lofty mountains. The valley is about
ten miles wide, and the city is on an eminence in the middle of it.’’ (Percy Fawcett’s letter to his son Brian about his idea of the Lost City
of ‘Z’.)
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| Taken in our back garden (before expedition!) with sons Brian and Matthew |
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| Just before heading across the sands to Mid Island |
Today was a walk (rather than run) and I was delighted to be
joined by my two sons Matthew (who has just finished university) and Brian (who
attends Clifton Special School.) Since the lockdown in March, the weather has been
warm and sunny and today was no exception. We decided to tackle these islands,
starting our walk from a small car park just south of Greyabbey on Strangford
Lough.
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| Yes looked like we were walking on water! |
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| In front of Mid Island |
Also, we thought it was wise to set out on our journey about 90 minutes
before low tide. At the car park in Greyabbey we could already see across the
sands to a small cottage on Mid Island. There was no causeway from here, so we
just headed in the direction of the white-washed cottage, getting our feet wet
as we plodded through the sand and puddles until we reached Mid Island.
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| Will McAvoy's cottage on Mid Island |
Previously known as North Island and sometimes called Mid Isle. It
was home to the Ulster-Scots poet Will McAvoy who lived in the cottage on the
island - sometimes Will goes back to give poetry sessions. The island even
became more famous recently as Brad Pitt’s movie ‘The Lost City of Z’ was
partly filmed here. This film was about the explorer Percy Fawcett who really
became obsessed with finding the ‘Lost City’ in the Amazon Jungle. On his eighth
and final expedition in 1925 he was joined by his 22 year old son (same age as
my son, Matthew!). Their last known communication was on 29 May 1925 (95 years
ago yesterday) and the pair were never seen again. Fawcett’s other younger son,
Brian who remained in England, spent most of his life trying to find his father
and brother.
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| Matthew and Brian on Mid Island |
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| Crossing causeway from Mid Island to South Island |
South Island
When we arrived on South Island
we took a left turn immediately and then circled the whole island. We thought, when
we got to the back (western side) of the island, we could then cut across to
Chapel Island but we realised that with soft mud and sand that it was much more
practical (and quicker) to come back to the same causeway again that we took
from Mid Island. We then walked around the other side of Mid Island (keeping the
sea on our left) and eventually we could see Chapel Island in the distance.
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| Matthew and Brian as we approached Chapel Island |
I was glad I had my son Matthew with me. Sometimes it was tough with
difficult terrain and our shoes got so wet along the way but Brian, in fairness
to him, seemed content and never complained (or never seemed to get tired) all
day.
Once we rounded Mid Island we could see Chapel Island in the
distance. There was no causeway from this side, so it was just a matter of ploughing
through the sand, rocks and pools of water. We knew we were heading in the
direction of the long island which we presumed (correctly!) was Chapel Island.
I gave Brian and Matthew some celery and carrots and we munched these as we
walked along. I was a bit concerned about the tide as it was now exactly low
tide at 11.45am. In hindsight I need not have worried and I think we would have
been ok even two hours each side of low tide.
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| Brian on Chapel Island |
Chapel Island
As we got closer to Chapel Island, we veered to the left through
the muddy rock pools so that we would arrive on the island on the southern
side. We didn’t expect to see an actual chapel on the island but nevertheless
it is disappointing to see just a small broken wall of stones where I presume
the church had once been!
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| All that remains of the chapel on Chapel Island |
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| Matt and Brian on Chapel Island with Scrabo Tower behind |
In any case this was the perfect location to either pray or just sit and contemplate life in general. Of course, here right in the middle of Strangford Lough, we are very close to Nendrum (just over a mile across to the other side of the lough) where Saint Mahee had his monastery (on Mahee Island). No doubt the saint and his fellow monks were regular visitors to the chapel here. Matthew and Brian were happy too that we finally had our picnic with (360 degree) views of the Mournes, Scrabo tower and other islands on the lough.
Still we didn’t delay too long as we were conscious that the ‘tide
was turning’ and we still had to walk back the full length of the island
(almost one mile long) before then taking to the wet sands again.
On leaving
Chapel Island it looked like there was a kind of causeway to follow but it seemed
to disappear after about 50 metres.
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| Leaving Chapel Island |
In any case Matthew suggested we walk
towards the right (easterly directly) so that we could return to our car
quicker. Soon we were back on the mainland and when we reached an old pier, we
climbed up the embankment.
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| Heading home! |
Here we found a nice country trail and we were able to walk on it along by the shore.
That trail soon faded away but shortly we could see the cottage
on Mid Island again and soon we were back (where we started) at the car park in
Greyabbey and enjoying another (well deserved!) picnic in the warm sunshine. Stage 6 is now complete ...........and the
adventure continues!
Total distance today 10.3 km or 6.4 miles
Total distance to date: 1,748 km (1,086 miles)
Total distance to date: 1,748 km (1,086 miles)
Next Stage: County Mayo: Ballina to Killala: Saturday 22 August
