Day 6: Ballydavid to Cloghane (27km)

A summary …

Day 6 of our Dingle Peninsula walk was spectacular of scenery, if a trifle tiring.  We had a wonderful walk along the coast before veering into the countryside towards Mount Doom (also known as Brandon Mountain). The route to the base of the mountain was a meander through fields and along country roads. On the way we saw a pub. As only 4km ago (note I now think in terms of kilometres, not traditional concepts of the passage of time) we’d had a nice breakfast, we weren’t particularly hungry, but we hoped to secure a coffee and cake before our ascent of the mountain. This was unfortunately not to be, which might be a good opportunity to record a regular conversation about coffee shops and pubs on our walk …

Why is it closed?

There are a number of possible answers.

It’s before 9 o’clock in the morning.

It’s midday.

It’s after five o’clock in the afternoon.

It’s Monday (or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday).

It’s Sunday.

On this particular day, a coffee and cake was not to be, so we proceeded on our way. There are a number of mountains on the approach to Mount Brandon, all with common features (tall) and as they are grouped together and our trail was of the zigzag variety, it was difficult to work out which particular mountain we were headed for. But finally, there it was, cloud capped and green and rock strewn. I won’t bore you with a step by step description of hiking kilometres into the sky, but I did reflect (as I walked) about different approaches to steep hill climbing.

Make haste! Make haste!

Yes, Mr Collins, I appreciate Rosings awaits, but please can we slow down.

Are we there yet?

If we were there, Lydia, I’d have a cider in my hand.

That’s not funny anymore.

This is actually one of my favourites because it applies to everyone, from to the sweet of disposition Jane, to the more naturally optimistic Lydia. What was funny a few hours ago (a boot in a stream, falling in the gorse, getting sunscreen in your mouth by mistake) is, after 20 km or so, not at all funny anymore. No joking or laughing, we’re climbing.

One step at a time

Wise if also glaringly obvious advice (so stop saying it every bloody minute) from Colonel Fitzwilliam.

It looked shorter on the map

This is clearly not said by Colonel Fitzwilliam who knows how to read a map, but likely one of the rest of us who gave the advice (or nodded encouragingly when someone else gave the advice) that one way might be better than the other. Note: things can also look less steep on a map, or less swamp like.

The Good and Bad

We wouldn’t have wanted to miss a thing, but 27km is a long way to walk, particularly when there is a steep ascent. We were lucky enough to have perfect walking weather though - cloudy and fine. We also had the benefit of literally walking into the cloud at the top, which was cooling (if visibility limiting).

The Interesting

Bogs

Chunks of bog are taken from the landscape to be made into peat for heating purposes. This isn’t allowed to happen everywhere, but it’s an interesting cultural phenomenon. I must find out more about it.

Dogs

Does ‘I’m just off to walk the dog’ mean something different in Ireland than it does at home? We saw a four-wheel drive motoring along with four border collies running merrily along behind it. Then we saw a tractor (children in the back) with different farm dogs running alongside.

Fogs

What I really mean is clouds and mists. A mist came up from the valley. A cloud descended from the heavens (at one point, they met in the middle. The clouds and mists appeared to have the same composition of damp. Something else to look up.

Sobs

Hiking is painful. Even with excellent boots and other equipment, by the end of the day, your feet ache. And even if things are going well, it’s not unusual to have a blister where one has never appeared before (for example, in reponse to Lizzie’s wet boots on Day 3). And it’s hard to avoid this - after all, Lizzie just had to get to Jane and Netherfield!

There are also muscle pains, often in the shoulders (carrying a backpack for hours at a time) and legs (putting one foot in front of the other - see above). There is also ‘desperate for a pee’ pain. There is also ‘prickle in the palm of your hand pain after pushing yourself upright after peeing’ pain (which is, unfortunately, very fresh in my mind after a recent misadventure).

Finally

Another long walk tomorrow as we get closer to our destination. We’ll be spending a lot of time at the beach but won’t be swimming or lying on deckchairs as tomorrow’s hike includes a walk along an 11km stretch of the peninsula’s longest beach! More to come!