Stage 24 of Coastal Run: Carrickart to Creeslough (via Rosguill Peninsula): Saturday 22 Sept 2018 (39.9k or 24.8 miles)
 

Running around Ireland - strictly by the coast - and once a month since Feb 2017.

I’m really enjoying researching and writing this blog as part of the coastal adventure. I’ve now completed over 1,000km since I left Omeath, Co. Louth last year with Helen and Sean. This month I found myself in a very remote part of Donegal in the Rosguill Peninsula where apparently, the last of the O’Boyles died in 1360, before the MacSweeneys of Scotland took over. So really, I’m just reclaiming the old O’Boyle land back again!  

Island Roy - first stop today!

  It’s a damp start to the day as I leave Carrickart just about 9.00 am. I can even count the nine church bells ringing in the distance as I’m leaving the village, heading north towards Island Roy.

View of Fanad and Blaney Bridge from Island Roy

Island Roy (Oilean Ruaidh)
Apparently on some maps Island Roy is not even shown and I must admit I’d never heard of it before. However I liked this wee island and I found it easily enough, sign-posted, just a mile or two north of Carrickart. So I cross a small bridge and arrive on Roy (or Oileán Ruaidh, meaning ‘red island’ due to the rusty colour of the vegetation). Apparently before the bridge/causeway was built to the island, children used get to school on the mainland by wading across on stilts at low tide.  (By the way, this is now the third island I’ve been too as part of my coastal run and I’m not including Island Magee in Co. Antrim - which isn’t actually an island!)

With Maura O'Neill who I met on Island Roy

On the island itself I get chatting to a lady (called Maura O’Neill) for a while. She tells me that it’s not possible to actually run around the whole island. I turn right anyway and run as far as I can until I come to a dead end (farm gates). Still there’s a lot to admire about Island Roy with magnificant views across the sea towards the Donegal hills and the new Blaney Bridge to Fanad is clearly visible.    

Immediately after leaving the island I take a sharp right turn and run along a slightly rocky shore. After a while I notice a grassy path up off the shore which is much better for running on. However, the path gets narrower and then comes to an abrupt end so I have to go back down on the shore again. I feel at this stage I must be close to Rosepenna, so I leave the shore again, passing through the garden of (an empty) holiday home and I arrive on a proper lane/boreen. I eventually come to Rosepenna pier and I take a sharp left turn just before the pier (on a better road now) and then a right turn at a T junction and I head north.

Singing Pub! Must come back here some time!

The rain has now stopped completely. It was never that wet to start with anyway and now the sun is coming out. It turns out to be another beautiful day in Donegal! It’s very quiet on these country roads. I pass the ‘Singing Pub’ (it would be nice to pay a visit sometime!)

My knee is still causing me problems and over the last week or so I’ve tried to rest it in preparation for today. In any case I don’t push it too hard today. (As I write this, a week later, the knee is still not really recovering!)

The sign towards the beach

So all is going well so far in Rosguill – no problems yet! I’m heading north but conscious that I should be closer to the sea. After passing the ‘Singing Pub’ and a ‘viewing point’ (lovely sight across to west Fanad), I see a sign to the right towards Tra na Rossan.

Tra na Rosann

 I decide to take this turn as I knew it would bring me closer to the coast. I really should have consulted my map at this stage! If I had, I would have noticed that Tra Rossan is actually on the west side of Rosguill.

Anyway, in short, I got my bearings wrong. It took me a while to get down to Tra Rossan (it was a beautiful beach and I had it all to myself, so I don’t regret that part).

I'm trying to mark my first 1,000k (Tra na Rosann)

Proud of my selfie with Tra na Rosann in background

So as I stood there on the beach, I thought I was on the east coast of Rosguill but I was actually on the west coast.






Sometimes you forget it’s such a narrow peninsula and only about 2k can separate the west and east coast. I tried to turn left at Tra Rossan beach but there were cliffs and so I returned (back up the hill again) to the original sign I saw. Then I took a right turn, still thinking I was heading north on the east side of Rossguill (I was actually now following the coast road towards the west side!)

The quiet country road in Rosguill

Luckily for me it was a beautiful day. There were magnificant views across the sea and I could clearly see Horn Head and even Tory Island in the distance (probably about 25k away).

View of Tory Island on right - Horn Head on left

Anyway I kept running until I saw a road sign. (I notice all the road signs are in Irish but the names in the map are all in English, which can add to the confusion!)  I decided to stop and consult my map. I stood there for a few minutes (scratching my head!) and a man and his two dogs came out of his house. I get talking to this friendly man, his name is Kevin McBride and he tells me I’m only two miles north of Downings beach. This came as a bit of a shock as I thought I was very near Melmore Head at the top of Rosguill!

With Kevin McBride

Kevin's nice wee cottage

So I arrived shortly in Downings (quicker than I thought, having not covered all of Rossguill – I will go back though someday to complete the whole peninsula!)

At Downings, I followed the sign (right) for the pier and went down the steps to the wide expansive beach. I carried on running along the beach until it came to end at the golf course.

Downings Beach



Downings Beach - sand for feet of the runner!

There was a nice wide road and path to run on as I headed for Creeslough. Maybe I should have tried to get down onto the beach after the golf course (and continued along Tra More) but I stayed on the main road to Creeslough which wasn’t too busy. 

The O'Boyles causing trouble again!

 

View across bay to Doe Castle

As I got closer to Creeslough there were lovely views across to Doe Castle and shortly afterwards I crossed a very picturesque bridge over the river Lackagh (An Leacach)



Bridge over river Lackagh

I avoided the main road into Creeslough by following the Cycle signs (right turn towards Doe Castle). With Muckish Mountain standing tall behind it was a lovely quiet way to approach Creeslough and complete Stage 24. The adventure continues!



Muckish Mountain

Today's finish line!

Total distance to date: 1,023k or 639miles  
Next Stage: Saturday 20 Oct (Creeslough to Dunfanaghy)  

If you’d like to Donate to Clifton Special School, please see below.
https://mydonate.bt.com/events/cliftoncoastalrun/381290

Stage 24 (the bit I missed last month): Rosguill Peninsula to Melmore Hill (starting and finishing at Tra na Rosann): Sunday 21 Oct 2018 (9.6k or 6miles)

 
I convinced Maureen and Brian to go back to the scene of the crime! The crime was that I hadn’t complete Stage 24 properly last month. I missed a bit! This six mile stretch might not seem very long but it involved climbing three hills in a remote area ...with my son Brian... and Maureen did some of it too!

The day didn’t start well. It rained all morning and there was a particularly heavy shower as we left Arnolds Hotel in nearby Dunfanaghy. I wondered if Maureen and Brian would be able to tackle this walk (no I didn’t expect them to run it!).

Anyway we arrived at Tra na Rosann beach in Rosguill at about 11.15am. On the positive side I had detailed instructions about walking to Melmore Head. I had found this sheet (on the internet) outlining the route to take which proved invaluable. 

And so we walked along Tra na Rosann to the end of the beach (keeping the sea on our left on this occasion) and then began our climb. Our first hill, Crocknasleigh is the highest point in Rosguill.

We could clearly see the beach below us and with the sun coming out; Tory Island was stretching out in the distance. Maureen doesn’t quite make it to Crocknasleigh but Brian and I carry on up to the top.

We follow our instructions from the sheet, making our way to the next hill. It turns out Brian is quite fit and makes it up to the second hill/peak without too much difficulty.

However, getting down from this hill poses a problem. We can see Boyeeghter Strand below us but it’s quite a descent.

We slowly make our way down and then have a lovely flat grassy stretch to walk on with Melmore Lough on our right hand side.

We head over to Murder Hole Beach (nobody seems to know how it got its name!) Anyway, Brian is still in good form as we slide down the sand dunes onto the strand at Murder Hole.

 

It’s turned out to be another sunny day with no sign of any more rain. We find our way to the ‘old derelict farmhouse’ and climb our last hill, Melmore Hill and eventually come back to the large caravan park and follow the main road out of the park. I reckon Brian has done enough today – I’m so proud of him! Maureen comes to meet us at Melmore Caravan Park and I complete the loop on my own, running back along the main road to Tra na Rosann beach. Mission accomplished – Stage 24 completed in full!  

    

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)  

If you’d like to Donate to Clifton Special School, please see below.

https://mydonate.bt.com/events/cliftoncoastalrun/381290