Stages 33-35: Ardara to Killybegs 26-28 July 2019: SW Donegal
Running around Ireland - strictly by the coast - and once a
month since Feb 2017.
"Look down on
Glencolmcille, its mountain, sea and shore and wonder at such beauty that nature has
allowed" (from A Destiny of
Dreams by Marion McGuire)
It was like a festival of running this
weekend; yes, hard work over three days but so enjoyable. I was delighted to be
reunited with Sean and Helen, Sean for all three stages and Helen for the toughest
day (climb over Slieve League) on the Saturday and for some of the run on Sunday.
Stage 33: Friday 26 July 2019: Ardara to Glencolmcille – 32km (or 20miles)
At
least the trip from Bangor was different this time and I passed through places
in Fermanagh (Kesh and Pettico) that I’d never been to before. Of course I had
Sean for company (and navigation) which shortened the journey.
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Sean, me and the Fiddler before leaving Ardara
|
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| Taking the turn towards the Waterfall and Maghera Beach & Caves |
It was just about 2.00pm when we started our run from Ardara, heading south first, as far at the turnoff signposted for Mahera Beach or An Machaire (making sure not to take the Glengesh road which would bring us too far inland!).
The first few
miles of our run were relatively flat with a lovely view over Maghera Strand
and across to Loughros peninsula. We then had a brief stop at the Assarnacally
Waterfall after 8k and got chatting to a Berlin couple and their wee girl.
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| With Berlin family |
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| Assarnacally Waterfall- 8k west of Ardara |
Our
run (or climb) only really began in earnest after we left the waterfall. We saw
the sign, pointing down towards Maghera Beach and Caves but realised they were
inaccessible as it was high tide. So instead, Sean and I put our heads down to
tackle the incline ahead. When we finally reached the top of the hill we left the country road and took a right turn over a gate to
join a rough trail (as per the Ordnance survey map). This part of our run was
much tougher than we expected. It wasn’t long before the trail seemed to
disappear and we were trampling through a bog. Eventually we got back on the ‘trail’
again or at least we saw signs pointing where we should go.
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| Following the Glen River |
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| The sheep know the way |
It was a little bit
easier when we came to the Glen River but again there was no proper trail along
by the river. We were so glad to get out the other side and pick up speed on
the quiet country road which brought us all the way down to that beautiful
secluded spot on the coast called Port (or ‘Pert’ as the locals seem to pronounce
it!)
There
was another German couple to welcome us at Port (this time from Koln) even
offering us some food. I was glad to take an apple from them before Sean and I tackled
the steep trail heading south (Glencolmcille Loop).
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| At the deserted village of Port with German couple from Koln. |
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| Deserted Famine village at Port |
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| Sinking of the Sydney at Port in 1870 |
I had read about Port being an abandoned Famine village and we could indeed see the deserted village behind us as we climbed the hill.
As Sean and I ran (and walked) up the trail I couldn’t get the image of young barefooted families trampling this same trail over 180 years ago.
This trail eventually led us down the hill to today’s destination, Glencolmcille.
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| Welcome to Glencolmcille! |
Glencolmcille paid a big part in developing Christianity in Ireland and it was local boy, Columba (521-597) who established a monastery here and gave his name to the glen. Another more recent hero of Glencolmcille is Fr. McDyer who helped build a canning factory, craft shops and the famous folk village and museum. We were most impressed with the magnificent stone map of Ireland where stone from every county in Ireland was used in building the structure.
I
think Sean and I were looking forward to having a nice meal after our tough runs
and climbs today. In the end we enjoyed very tasty fish and chips which we
bought from a van in Glencolmcille. We then sat in the sunshine for a couple of
hours, chatting to various people. It didn’t seem long before Helen and Neill
arrived in their car and we all made our way to Malin Beg Hostel where we were
booked in for two nights.
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| Deserved pints in Glencolmcille! |
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| With Phil and Davy - thanks for Clifton donation. |
After a quick shower in the hostel we all sat around a nice fire. When someone asked Frank the owner of the hostel, ‘Is there Wi-Fi here’, he replied ‘No we talk
here’ and so we did talk, chatting to other residents and enjoying a few
glasses of wine around the fire. To cap it all, Helen even made a birthday cake
for me. Yes, definitely one of the most enjoyable birthdays of my 61 years!
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| Still not too old to be celebrating a birthday! |
Stage 34: Saturday 27 July 2019: Glencolmcille to Teelin (via Malinbeg and Sleeve League) – 27km
(or 17miles)
It was an early enough start today at
Malinbeg Hostel. We had to pick my car up, which was still in Ardara, so we
decided to go on a bit further north to Portnoo and do the new parkrun there. In
any case we had to collect Valerie who was staying the weekend at her caravan in
Portnoo. We were delighted that Valerie was going to join us for Stage 34
today.
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| Helen and Valerie at Narin parkrun |
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| Neill showing how to take corner at parkrun |
It was a beautiful morning when we arrived
in Portnoo and running a parkrun on the beach (Narin Strand) was a great way to
start the day. There was such a lovely friendly holiday atmosphere there on the strand. Afterwards
Valerie and Philip invited us back to their caravan for breakfast (wheaten
bread and banana bread). We appreciated this as we had a long day ahead!
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| Tipp girl, Valerie - pointing out her county |
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| Leaving Glencolmcille |
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| From Malinbeg - looking across at Rathlin O'Birne island |
By the time we got back to Glencolmcille
(to begin Stage 34) it was almost 12.00 noon. So, there were five of us today (Helen,
Neill, Valerie, Sean and me) on our own ‘Mountain of Adventure’! It was a nice
10k run first before we reached Malinbeg, although Helen pointed out that it
wasn’t all downhill to Malinbeg (as I had mentioned!). We were glad to stop
at the hostel at Malinbeg and had some drinks there before we tackled the
cliffs of Slieve League.
Frank at the hostel advised us to take a
left at the crossroads and then the first right. (PS Thanks Frank for Clifton donation!) The small boreen turned to a
trail but even when the path disappeared, it was easy enough terrain to run or
walk on.
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| At Silver strand |
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| Five go on a Mountain of Adventure! |
Also, the weather was in our favour today; dry and sunny with hardly a
puff of wind. Over the last few weeks I had thought so much about this stage (and
even worried about the safety aspect of it) and now I knew everything would be
ok! We had marvellous views from the beginning, first looking down on Silver
Strand beach and later the spectacular Slieve League cliffs stretched out
before us. These cliffs are not as famous as the Cliffs of Moher but are three
times higher and much more spectacular.
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| Valerie flying down the hills |
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| The start of the big climb |
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| Still climbing! |
It was a tough ascent and the legs were
tired after yesterday - not to mention the 15k we already ran this morning!
Still we kept climbing and climbing, over a few false summits and finally we
reached the top, 600 metres above sea level! Strava recorded this steepest part
as 256 metres climb in just one kilometre!
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| At the top of Sleeve League - 600 metres above sea level! |
Tackling Slieve League from this side is truly
amazing. We only met two people along the way and the best was still yet to
come. The famous ‘One Man’s Pass’ was now stretching out in front of us. On a
day like today it was quiet safe to walk along this narrow ridge on the top of
Donegal.
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| One Man's Pass - Sean leading the way |
Stage 35: Sunday 28 July 2019: Teelin to Killybegs 26km (or 16.2 miles)
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| Leaving Rusty Mackerel again! |
We weren’t as lucky with the weather today,
although it didn’t rain properly until we were almost in Killybegs. Helen and
Neill joined us for some of the way and turned back just before we got to
Kilcar. We started at the Rusty Mackerel at Teelin running north as far as
Carrick and then running south along the other side of the bay. I think there
might have been an opportunity to cross the river earlier (before Carrick) but
we weren’t confident about that.
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| The view across to Teelin pier from other side of bay |
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| Making sure we're going the right way. |
It usually takes Sean a while to get going
in the mornings and as Helen and I powered on (and Neill sprinted miles ahead)
we somehow ‘lost’ Sean not long after we left Carrick. (Oh and we lost him
yesterday too!) As Helen recited later ‘he took the high road and we took the
low road’. I eventually was reunited with Sean at Kilcar just before the Gaelic
pitches (home to the McHughs and McBreartys). I should mention that when we got to the main street in Kilcar, we made a sharp right turn to stay by the coast.
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| Saying goodbye to Helen with Donegal flag. |
And so, we said goodbye to Helen
and Neill who made their way back to Teelin. Meanwhile Sean and I then tackled
the steep coastal road. At the top we had perfect views back to Sleeve League and
ahead to St. Johns Point.
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| At Tra Bhan and Muckross Head |
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| Another German couple from Stuttgart |
Sean and I decided then to run out the 2k country
road to Muckross Point. At the point there were some rock climbers and we met
two more German people, this time from Stuttgart.
On the way back from Muckross Point we saw
a sign ‘Memory Lane’ outside a house. The sign said, ‘Call in for the craic’
and so we did! At the back of the house there was a lovely little tearoom with
a half door. A young lady called Laura greeted us.
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| Back to school! |
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| With Laura at Memory Lane |
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| Laura's grandfather's cart - over 500 years old! |
The small tearoom had
beautiful little ornaments, an old school desk and a lovely fireplace. Over the
fireplace was a picture of an elderly lady. Laura explained that this was her
grandmother, Annie Murphy who died recently. It was her grandmother’s dream to
have a little tearoom to welcome visitors. Sean and I enjoyed our tea and fruit
cake. It was the perfect place to stop as we were more than half-way into
today’s run.
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| Looking down on Pier near Rualach |
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| Are we there yet? |
We were still able to continue along the
quiet country road for another few miles but eventually we did have to come out
onto the main road. Still the road sign said only 7km to Killybegs. We had to
be careful along this busy, windy road. Also, the rain started but this didn’t
deter Sean who was now getting his second wind! Strava recorded kilometre no.
80 and 82 (of a total of 85k over the weekend) as the fastest two at 4.48 and
4.46 mins per km. As we were making our way down to the harbour to finish
today’s run these song words song were going through my head ‘the boys of
Killybegs are rolling home’. And so we were … the adventure continues in south
Donegal at the end of August.
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| The boys of Killybegs are home! |
Total distance to
date: 1,411k (882miles)
Next Stages: Killybegs
to Dunkineely (via St. John’s Point) and Dunkineely to Donegal Town – weekend
of 24-26 August 2019
