‘Nothing hurts more, but is so rewarding at the same time’ Sandy Zanchi (Marathon runner)
Stage 12: Cushendall to
Ballycastle (via Tor Head) (31k or 19.5miles)
Saturday 20 January 2018
It seems a long time ago
since our previous monthly coastal run which was just before Christmas. Today
was all about the snow and ice! Running through the snow in the sunshine was at
times invigorating and we were able to push along on a perfect soft surface. However,
the ice was another story – sometimes it was quite dangerous and we had to
tip-toe our way through the treacherous spots of black ice.
As usual we started where we
finished and so we continued our adventure today in 2018 in the village of
Cushendall, Co. Antrim.
It was way back in primary school
in Galway when I first heard the magical (and scary!) name of Cushendall as
part of a short poem I learned.
Tiveragh is a
fairy hill and near to Cushendall,
And nobody goes
there at night, no nobody at all.
Cushendall (formerly
known as Newtown Glens) is
the meeting point of three of the famous Glens of Antrim. To add to the mystery
and folklore, Cushendall is also supposed to be the burial place of Oisin who
ran off with Niamh to Tir na Nog (land of the young) but then foolishly
returned and died instantly.
Helen, Sean and I were delighted to be joined by
Helena Dornan, an experienced ultra runner (and friend of Sean’s) from North
Antrim. Helena even met us in Ballycastle (our finish point) and drove us
through the snow and ice back to Cushendall where we started today’s run. Thank
you Helena!
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| Sean slides in the ice as he points to Lurig |
We started today in Cushendall with snow-covered
Lurigethan towering over the village. We continue along Shore Road which leads on
to Layde Road to the ruins of Layde Church, dating back to 1638 and one of the
main burial places of the MacDonnells.
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| Helena and Gerry leaving Cushendall behind |
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| Helen and Helena at Layde Church |
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| Layde Church ruins |
 |
| Just one of the icy roads travelled |
We follow the icy coast road to Cushendun and we
struggle through the slippery surface. At times it was like running on
Dundonald ice bowl!
 |
| Helen, Helena, Gerry and Sean |
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| Icy roads, white fields and a couple of Coastal Runners |
We arrive eventually in Cushendun,
which is really the nearest Irish village to Scotland. In fact before the Act
of Union in 1800, Cushendun had its own Customs House and Passport Office and
this would have been the main entry point from Scotland. We stop and ask a lady
to take a picture of the four of us in front of the statue of the goat, Johaan (the last animal to be culled in the 2001 foot and mouth epidemic).
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| Gerry, Helena, Johaan, Helen and Sean |
We leave Cushendun and
continue to hug the coast and start to climb the narrow road towards Torr Head.
The views are spectacular today in the winter sunshine and snow. However, once
again the icy surface slows us down. It seems like hours have passed before we
eventually reach Torr Head and when we get there we climb up the steep hill to
the ruins of Altagore Castle. From Torr Head there are amazing views east
towards the Mull of Kintyre (and the island of Arran) and north towards Rathlin
and the island of Islay. We’ve finally arrived at the top north easterly corner
of Ireland.
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| Skis would have been handy for the downhills! |
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| Admiring the views/arguing over whether we see Islay, Mull of Kintyre or Rathlin! |
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| Mull of Kintyre |
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| Helen, Gerry and Sean at NI's closest point to Scotland |
Mull of Kintyre
Standing at Torr Head we’re only
13 miles from the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland. Last week I was talking to Billy
Brannigan, a North Down AC veteran, who now lives in the Mull of Kintyre and he
was explaining how Paul McCartney made the place famous and also came up with
the Beatle song "The Long and Winding Road". McCartney was inspired
by the sight of a road "stretching up into the hills in the calm beauty in
the remote highlands surroundings ’’.
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| Torr Head |
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| Helena, Sean, Gerry and Helen on Torr Head - Scotland just over our right shoulders! |
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| Looking at Fair Head (left) and Rathlin (centre) |
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| Helena and Sean before they fell on grassy Torr Head! |
Of course this side of the
Irish Sea has its own calm beauty as we leave Torr Head and continue west along
our own long and winding road. It seems safer now. Earlier, all four of us had
fallen at some stage along the slippery surfaces. Thankfully none of us were
injured and we’re still going strong. We have this narrow road all to ourselves
today and a beautiful white surface to run on. It even seems warm now in the
winter sunshine as we power through the soft snow.
We soon come to the junction at
Murlough Bay and the four of us stop to discuss whether we should tackle the slippery
cliff tops of Fair Head or continue along the narrow road. We agree for
safety reasons not to go to Murlough Bay and so we avoid the ‘Grey Mans
Path’ along Fair Hill. Helena, our local guide today keeps us safe and as we
get close to Ballycastle (her home town) we take a right turn down Drumaroan
road which leads us down towards the beach. It’s the perfect way to approach
the beautiful town of Ballycastle with Rathlin Island stretching across in the
near distance.
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| Smiles all round as we are on Ballycastle beach! |
Total distance to date: 480k
or 300miles
P. S. - Running and Walking around Ireland
As
we continue our adventure we are thinking about other people who also travelled
this route. Terry Eakin of course completed the whole coast of N.Ireland in
2013 and referred to a man called David Boyd who apparently walked around the
whole coast of Ireland in the 1980’s. Terry tells us that David’s ashes are
scattered somewhere around Torr Head. And we’ve just heard last week about a
lady called Mary Nolan Hickey who started her own epic adventure, running
around Ireland (RNLI Lap the Map!). I
met Mary last week and ran with her from Donaghadee to Belfast.
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| Gerry with Mary Hickey at Titanic, Belfast |
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