Day 8: Castlegregory to Camp (11 km)

In Summary …

Eleven kilometres? A walk in the park! Only … it was very wet. And squally and windy. On the bright side, the rain was often swept sideways, so if one could find a particularly thick hedge or wall to shelter behind, it appeared to be barely raining at all. The only trouble with sheltering was that we made no progress and if we didn’t get to the end of the walk we didn’t get a lift back to our very comfortable accomodation! We walked along beaches and country lanes before braving a section of busy road with no pathway (so we spent quite some time when cars came along walking backwards - because of our backpacks - into bushes). We also yelled at Messrs Darcy and Bingley - ‘Don’t end your lives as witches hats’ as they had a tendency to gravitate to the outside of the party in a worryingly protective manner.

In addition to seabirds, we saw hoof prints on our beach walk but possibly due to the inclement weather which would put the wind up the most placid horse’s tail, we didn’t see horses (merely evidence they’d been there) on the beach. But we did see Connemara ponies on the side of the road, and Mr Darcy is now quite good at picking out their salient points.

Now we’re back to the safety of our final night’s accommodation, there is time for reflection on our wonderful walk. A few thoughts (I must remember to read them prior to our next hike …)

Boots

Day Three taught us (this was confirmed on Day Eight) that eight pairs of expensive boots sourced after much discussion with tall young men and women in hiking shops do not sixteen dry feet make. Not even eight dry feet. Absolutely no dry feet! We did all the right things (I even wore gaiters over my boots on the final day!) but after a few hours of rain, puddles, damp and muddy tracks, and the occasional shallow stream, the water made its way in. Squish squalsh squish. On yet another bright side (we were always looking for one) staying in B & Bs and small hotels meant we could dry the boots overnight. Regularly changed newspaper (which acts as a wick when you stuff it in the boot) works wonders, but so does a hairdryer used expeditiously. We also had back up boots - a lesson we learnt after our Scottish hike. Wet boots must be a particular problem for campers (not to mention wet socks).

Poles

To pole or not to pole? Some of our party were attached to their poles like icing on a cupcake, some of us used one pole (remember the old Jonnhny Walker whiskey man in a top hat, waving his cane with style and vigour?), others used no poles. Mr Darcy got his poles out in the two pm ‘general malaise’ period, used it for an hour to perk himself up, then put it away again.

Grumpiness (also known as general malaise and flagging and I think I might die)

Denied by everyone after a hard days hike. Ha!

Stopping (and not stopping)

We would very much liked to have stopped for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. Not necessarily to eat because one is surprisingly not hungry when walking (Colonel Fitzwilliam once declared that he was too exhausted to chew anything more substantial than a banana), but to top up our fluids and freshen our spirits. When it’s raining and soggy, or the midges (admittedly only a problem on day one) or wind or rain or even sunshine are out in force, and you’re in a field or on a beach, it can be difficult to find a sheltered place to stop for a while.

Go-to Snacks

Banana. Milk Arrowroot biscuits. Lemon sherbets. Jelly Babies. Cranberries. Nut and sultana mix. Apricots. Apple drops. We all had our favourites. My particular favourite was cinnamon biscuits taken from the previous night’s B & B. And tea. We (actually Mr Darcy) carried two thermoses (is the plural thermi?) at all times. Even standing in the rain, I find tea invigorating.

Weather

Yes, there was weather, but that’s part of the adventure. At home we wear coats and have umbrellas and sit under awnings and stay outside and try not to get wet. But it actually doesn’t shrink you. And frizzy hair is okay. As is no make up and sweat and cow poo on your boots. Walking along a beach with the rain on your face and with the surf crashing alongside you can be wonderful and uplifting and exciting. You’re a part of nature and what more could you want?

Peeing

Easier for men than for women while hiking. Particularly when the woman’s under and overgarments are wet and stick to the skin and one not only has to squat in a field or by the side of the road (while avoiding nettles and brambles and cow dung and farmers in tractors) but adjust one’s petticoats while attempting to spring to one’s feet.

Incontinence

Sometimes things are so hard or funny that you just have to laugh. Sometimes you’re called on to jump over a ditch. Or run through a raging stream or tide. My advice would be, don’t hang on too long before you pee - you are much better to do it prior to one of the events stipulated above. Guaranteed, for the next hour at least, you’ll be saying to any of your travelling companions who will listen, ‘I should have done that ages ago.’

A Helping Hand

Often this takes the shape of a pole extended over a tricky set of stepping stones (grab that pole, people!) or an offer to take something heavy out of your pack in the case of flagging (see Grumpiness above) or limping (see Boots above) or a ghost white face or a startlingly red one. On a fine day when there’s a clear direction (though there are often more than one way to end up in the same place) it’s fine to separate into groups of two or three, but when the hike is hard, or if mist is likely, or rain or low cloud, we all stick together and help each other out. Sometimes perking someone up involves a joke or two, but please use these judiciously (see Incontinence above).

The Good

We hiked at least 180km in 8 days and saw a magnificent region of Ireland.

The Bad

All good things must come to an end.

Finally …

💚🧡💚 Thank you to the friendly, hospitable and helpful Irish people we met along the way. Some of you must have thought us slightly demented for forging on in all types of weather, but you were uniformly supportive and pointed us in the right direction when we were lost (on the hike or on the way to the pub). To my readers, thank you so much for coming along on the hike!