A reason to celebrate

Toomevara to Upperchurch   

A few wines last night and we have all slept very well. It rained on and off all night but it is clear when we rise. Patricia has promised a cooked breakfast to be delivered by 7.15am but it is very quiet at the house and no bacon and egg smells. 7.15am comes and goes. We cannot wait any longer so have a quick plate of cereal, pack the car and leave, leaving her a note. By the time we reach Toomevara we receive a text saying “Breakfast is ready, sorry I missed you……” I am afraid she is not very reliable.

A short drive to Toomevara, it is cool, overcast and we have 31.9klms to walk, I think we may get wet today. Today will be the hardest walking day so far and the start of some serious hills to clamber up.  We leave our bags in Philip’s car, grab our wet weather pants, follow the directions given and start to walk. Philip will drive on a few kilometers and then walk back to meet us. This also gives him a chance to check out the walk before we reach it. We have hardly left the village and we have to stop and make a pants change as the rain is starting to get very heavy. We slowly head uphill, Silvermines village in the distance with large scoops of land being mined, windfarms spinning on the ridges and the fog on the hilltops. I feel we drove this way with Patricia a few nights ago and it is not long before we reach the Latteragh Castle and Graveyard. The Cross of Latteragh is a sign and name only.

We are now on the Ormond Way and spot a field archway and BBW sign. 

It does not look like it has ever been used and perhaps not even open to the public. A sign only. We ask a lady who is walking her dog and she confirms what I have just said. A sad, deserted and derelict section of the O’Sullivan Walk which needs to be reported when we reach the Beara. The day is starting to warm up, we pass the Castle National School built in 1896, now a derelict stone building and onto Templederry.  Philip has already organised a break and coffee with Mary at the local Post Office/Hotel which is not open. Templederry is a very small village with a decent sized church with its religious headstones lined up near the front door and sitting on the hill on the village boundaries but not much else in the town area.

Mary opens the main area of Hogan’s Pub lounge for us and brings us out tea and cake, off come the shoes for a while. The hospitality is fantastic and only €5 euros for the morning tea. I feel it is the company we have paid for. As we are about to leave the village, Matt Ryan and his wife turn up, he is someone that I have been in touch with several times over the preparation period and one of the main commitee members for the upkeep of this section of the walk through the Tipperary area. I had not told him when we were coming through the

area so another of these coincidences that we have been experiencing along the way. We cannot linger for too long as we still have a long walk ahead of us today.

We head off down Tipperary Road and into the country lanes with its yellow daisy covered edges, some rather steep hills so partially close the eyes, put the head down and it makes the ascent easier or so it seems. Up to the forest area where we stop for some lunch, taste the wild strawberries along the walk. The hills are becoming steeper; the views are magical. The purple covered hay bales have started to appear – purple for childhood diseases. Upperchurch is just around the corner after we climb yet another hill and another long and winding road. As we reach the highest section of the ranges, Upperchurch looms in the distance. The village is deserted but neat and clean, it is early afternoon and not a soul in sight. No shops or pubs are open. We are staying in an Airbnb “Hillview” next to “Pa’s Bar” and it looks quite new but how do we access it? I find a backdoor to the village pub ajar so go in and locate a worker who takes pity on us and lets us into the bar for a very welcome coffee and he also rings the owner of the B & B.

Upperchurch is one of the villages that O’Sullivan Beare and his followers passed through; they chose to stay on the high ground/mountains above the British Forces so they could keep them in sight on the lower grounds.

We settle into our rooms and there are still a lot of light hours in the day so we head off towards Tipperary so we have fewer kilometers to walk tomorrow. My feet and ankle are quite sore so could quite easily not walk, I hope I have not pulled a muscle or it will be all over - red rover. The day is warm and the sun is still high. We start the walk along a very busy highway with little vacant edging; I do not feel comfortable or safe on this road. We pass a row of standing stones in the fields, purple colour in the afternoon breeze, rabbits trying to hide in the bushes.  We continue up a back road and into the paddocks which appear not to have been used for some time, electric fences to climb under and large cow pats and fox holes to avoid in the boggy, marshy field. Some horses are watching us choose our footing. The red jumper appears in the distance and then the wide grin on Philip’s face telling us that we have walked far enough for the day - 31.9klms. Back for a glass of champagne as we have now walked past the half way mark so a reason to celebrate. We had organised a night meal across the road at Kinnane’s Pub, a little expensive but nowhere else in the village to eat, our shout for all the help that Philip has given us since our arrival at his house in French Park.

“Hillview B & B” is an Airbnb separate home, so was organised and paid for online before we left Australia, newly renovated, lovely clean and airy rooms and directly on the Beara Breifne Way, €50 per person per twin room, breakfast included, cook or make your own and a well-stocked kitchen The contact can be found at the hotel across the road.