If we knew in advance what today was going to bring we would have stayed in bed......

Ballinafad to Ballaghaderren

We thought we were sorted with printed out google maps……. but not so. However after today we do know that we can walk 32klms next week.

Up at 6am as we have a long walk, breakfast has been set up for us in the dining room, rain has stopped and blue skies are showing but still rather cold, about 10 degrees. I doubt the blue skies will last. Trish has agreed to drive us to Ballinafad so we can pick up the walk and continue on our way. Ballinafad is about 5 klms from Amber B & B. She has printed off some Google maps for us but we still manage to miss the first turnoff after the fenced ruins of the Ballinafad Castle. There are no road signs. We must keep laughing; we cannot lose our sense of humour, not this early in the walk. We trudge along the back road for a further 5 klms and finally decide to stop a farmer and ask if he could give us directions – a big mistake again. He tells us to continue to the t-intersection, past a certain house and then turn right to Keash and even though every instinct is telling us to turn left we decide the local would know best. Had we found Kesh on the map we may have asked someone else. We are now on the R295, a much busier road which also does not settle well with us but we continue. The pub and shop near Keash are not open and it is already 9am. The day is getting warmer and we are feeling it. The heaps of peat piled high are starting to appear in the boggy fields. We must ask some questions about how the peat “grows”. So fascinating. Different heaps are piled in different ways, some high piles and some not so high. We have also started to notice the green barb wire fencing. Is it green for Ireland? Boyle and Ballymote are 10 klms either way from the turnoff, also the Kingstone Holy Well and Toomour Abbey but as the sign has no distance marked we decide not to visit this time. The Toomour Old Abbey remains and Kings Grave looks interesting so we trudge up the mossy lane but are greeted at the gate by some small angry horses who do not want us to open the gate so again we decide against entering. A shame as the sign description looked interesting.

Onto Keash, a town with absolutely nothing open so we stop off at the local school for directions. School did not commence until 9.30am and the principal and two teachers arrive 5 minutes before the bell is rung. The first teacher to arrive is a relief English teacher. The next teacher to arrive is a local but can give us no directions. Finally, the principal who is a local gives us directions to the next village, Culfudda. A quick toilet stop and directions and we are on our way to Culfadda, we have been assured there is a coffee and some shops there. Wrong information again – not a shop in sight so we find a table and chairs on the corner of the crossroads and we drink cold tea from Richard’s thermos and muesli bars. Light rain has started and we are still a long way from where we should be – we appear to be in the middle of nowhere. A local man advises us to walk towards Mullaghoe so we walk for a few hours. The fields are littered with black faced sheep and lambs and our first thatched roof house, “Cloonena Lodge”, so pretty. We are back in the County of Roscommon. We pass several old deserted ruins but as they are a distance off the road all we can do is look and take a photograph. The walk is hilly and we experience the lot – wind, rain and sun.

We trudge along for another few hours and before us is a seriously main road, which way should we go? Directions are required and we ask a builder who is building a teahouse to be opened in a few months, pity it is not already open as we could do with a decent coffee or tea. After he hears of our interesting directions and pleas for directions he takes pity on us and drives us a short distance to Gorteen the next village so we do not have to walk on the main arterial road. At least there are shops and some civilisation in the town. We are starting to become exhausted and know we must have a rest so ask for directions to a town coffee shop at a large Irish music shop on the fringes of the town. The owner offers us a coffee, biscuits and a rest; this will be the first of many of these generous offers as we walk Ireland. More directions and we are on the road again, 10klms until we finish for the day. This time we are walking on a busy National road and the first time we have experienced one as busy. Single lanes each way and high hedges and not much space on the sides. When there is some room, the edges are covered in brambles and stinging nettle. We walk single file along the yellow side line and must place our trust in the drivers that they see us and move over for us. This is a road rule of Ireland as several of the walks in Ireland are on these sorts of roads. We have a few close shaves but have 10klms of this type of walking. Makes us walk faster which is difficult as our legs and backpacks are heavy, the day is warm and we are utterly exhausted. Half way along this stretch the sign posts change telling us that we have walked 6 klms and have still to walk 7klms. This does not add up to 10klms. Why the change? We feel we want to sit in the gutter and cry. How could they do this to us! Finally, the town starts to come into view and I know the Hotel, Durkin’s Bar, is in the centre of the Village. I am hoping that the centre of the village is closer to this side of town than the other. It would be nice. The walk into the town centre seems to go on forever so ask a lady how far to the hotel and she replies – “10 minutes walking but the way you ladies are walking it will be about 20minutes.” Not sure whether to thank her for the directions or be offended by her remark. As we cross over the motorway the town is ahead of us and perched on the side of the road are several life sized cane baskets and what appears to be a cane sheep. These will not be the last time we see similar large cane displays on the footpaths and in parks around the town.

Our feet are sore, very sore and after having walked 37.8lms instead of 26klms and walked for 9 hours I feel a Guinness or two are most welcome. It takes a while to get our sore feet and aching legs wanting to walk upstairs to a lovely and large room with a most welcome large bath. We have had an upgrade and been placed at the back of the hotel in the new extension, should be quieter away from the bars so great for a good night’s sleep. Our lower part of our legs and ankles are covered in a red rash from the socks and the heat of the day. This happened several times during our Australian training and it is a heat rash that will disappear after a few days, so long as our legs allow us to walk tomorrow.

Durkin’s Bar is situated in the centre of the town and it is 40 euros per person for a twin room, close to several tourist places of interest to the traveller. A lovely little town.

A quick look around the village but our feet are too sore to go far so decide on an early night as it has started to rain.  We are not sure how we will stand up tomorrow but that is another day.