Running around Ireland - strictly by the coast - and once a
month since Feb 2017.
"The echo of your fiddle lingers on the breath of the wind." (inscription on 'Fiddler' statue in Ardara)
With other commitments on Saturday, this
time the stages were on a Sunday and (a very short one ) on Monday. Once again, I had Maureen
and Brian to keep me company on the long journey from Bangor to Donegal. I decided I would do
a long tough 32k Stage (Portnoo to Ardara) on the Sunday and leave a short 9k run
(from Ardara out to Loughros Point) for Monday morning.
Portnoo - or to be more exact, Naran.
So I started where I finished in May at the beautiful beach in Portnoo and headed west towards Dunmore Head. (btw Dunmore is the same name of my mother’s home village in Co. Galway. My mother would think I was totally mad running around the coast!).
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| Another gate to climb over! |
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| Near Portnoo Pier |
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| A wee castle at Portnoo Pier |
Anyway,
heading west from Portnoo/Naran, I
soon came to Portnoo Pier. There were beautiful views across Gweebarra Bay and to
nearby Inishkeel island. (last time with the the low tide I was able to to reach the island.)
From
Portnoo Pier I continued along a very narrow and grassy path but
soon the path disappeared and suddenly I came to a fence which I climbed over. I was pleasantly surprised that the coastal path seemed to continue for
a mile or two after that. I had planned to stick by the coast and circle
Dunmore Hill but what I didn’t realise was, that the hill came almost all the
way down to the sea.
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Following the sheep up Dunmore Hill
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Dunmore Hill
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I realise I’m not too far either from O’Boyles Fort (built on an island in the middle of Doon Lough) which was the scene of the murder of Conor O’Boyle, killed by a rival family member in 1530 (better not tell my son Conor about this!)
Anyway,
I keep running west along this road until I came to a right turn which takes me down towards Dawros Head at the western end of this peninsula. Eventually the road comes
to an abrupt end and I climb over a gate and head left/south, cross-country
towards the coast.
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| Near Dawros -always nice to see a stile |
I follow this coastline and it’s hit or miss again for the
next four or five miles with a mixture of nice coves, beaches, bog-land and lots
of sheep! Soon I come to the lovely Trawmore beach and afterwards a longer and
even nicer beach, Ballinreavy strand.
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| Ballinreavy Strand |
At this stage I’m getting hungry – it’s a
long time ago since I had breakfast in Bangor (about 5.30am) but even more
urgently I need a drink – I'm so thirsty now! I realise it’s 2.00 and the Ulster
Football Final had just kicked off (Donegal beat Cavan, I hear later!) so
another reason why there’s nobody about today!
After
leaving Ballinreavy beach there’s a lovely path through sand dunes. I’m running
along here when I spot two couples walking. I stop to ask them for a drink and
almost devour their supply. One of the men seems to recognise me and it turns
out I had met him briefly in Portnoo when I was there in May. He is Philip
McDonough’s brother! Philip ran with me during Stages 30 and 31. These things
only happen in Ireland where everyone knows someone who knows you!
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| With Stephen McDonough |
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| and cousins! |
I
continue along the dunes and realise now that I’m running in an area called
Sheskinmore which is one of the most important Nature Reserves in
Ireland. I eventually get down on the shore again as the tide is almost at its lowest but I made the mistake of following the coast too far and missed
the country lane up from the beach just before Ardara. I ended up tramping
through a muddy beach and fields and finally and arrived
on the country lane about 3km NW from Ardara. At this stage I was fading and
needed sustenance. I stopped at the first shop (a Service Station) just outside
Ardara and purchased a banana and yorkie bar. I slowly made my way into Ardara, exhausted after today's run!
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| John the fiddler welcomed me to Ardara |
That
evening Maureen, Brian and I went to visit Maureen’s cousins (Cathal and Sarah)
who live in Meenacross (unfortunately they were away when I ran passed their
house during Stage 30 last month). On the way to their house this evening we
spotted one or two bonfires. Of course it’s St. John’s Night – 23rd
June – an old Irish custom that’s still remembered in this part of the world.
Cathal and Sarah serve up a beautiful pasta dinner and we have a wonderful
evening. The expression ‘eating you out of house and home’ was never so apt this
evening as I tucked into all four courses! We runners like to call it 'refuelling'!
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| With Cathal and Sarah at Meenacross. |
Ardara and the fiddler on the road: Ardara is indeed a
nice place and was voted best village to live in 2012 by the Irish Times.
There’s a lovely little statue in the centre of the town dedicated to a fiddler,
called John Doherty (see picture). Doherty (c1900-1980) was a Donegal fiddler from a long line of travelling
tinsmiths, horse traders and musicians. His forbears are thought to have been
in the service of the O’Donnells, one of the most powerful Donegal families,
who fled their home at Castle Doe in 1607 during the Flight of the Earls.
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| Leaving Ardara |
Ardara to end of peninsula at Loughros Point (Part B of Stage 32)
The following morning (Monday) was more relaxing. I decided that
I would run out to Loughros Point (about 9k) which is the most westerly point
from Ardara. Maureen agreed that she would meet me at the slipway at Loughros
Point. I did contemplate trying to ‘rough it’ again along the shore but it didn’t
look achievable. (we even checked it out the evening before!) Also, there didn’t
seem to be much point in running back the same road again so I agreed (with myself!)
it would be a one way run to the end of the peninsula!
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Heading to Loughros
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After a wet start to the morning it quickly dried up and turned out to be a nice day. As I got into Loughros peninsula there were beautiful views south across Maghera Strand to the cliffs on the other side (it’s going to be hilly on the next stage!) At one point I could even see in the distance the spectacular Assarnacally Waterfall across the wide strand - something else to look forward to on Stage 33.
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| A sheep with a view |
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| Looking across to Maghera Strand |
Toward the end of the peninsula there was a junction. A sign pointed right to
Tra/Strand and left to the Slipway where I had arranged to meet Maureen and
Brian. There was small parking area at the slipway but in any case we had the area all to
ourselves for the next couple of hours.
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| Cheeees - says Brian! |
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| Maureen at Loughros Pier/Slipway |
At the slipway I convinced Maureen and Brian to climb
the grassy hill to the very top of the peninsula at Loughros Point. At the point we spot letters marked by rocks on
the grass spelling out the word EIRE.
I had seen similar markings at Malin Head
and Melmore Point and these have been here since World War 2 to indicate that
Republic of Ireland was a neutral country.
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| Spelling out E I R E at Loughros Point |
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| View from Loughros Point |
Today Maureen, Brian and I
have this magnificent view all to ourselves with the hills of Donegal
stretching out in all directions and Maghera Strand with shrouded cliffs across the bay. Even the great Atlantic Ocean to our west is today,
still and peaceful.
Total distance to
date: 1333k (833 miles)
Next Stages: 3 stages
from Ardara to Killybegs (via Glencolmcille and Slieve League): 26/28 July 2019....
and reunited with Helen and Sean who will join me for the first time since
Stage 15.
