The view back towards Sneem |
Towards the Everagh Peninsula |
Eventually I reached the summit and I wasn't disappointed with the views. The ground fell away steeply to the sea on one side and further on the Beara Peninsula looked great. On the other side Coomcallee looked great and the hills continued onwards into the distance. From here we set off along the ridge towatds the communication mast about 1500mtrs away. This wasn't that straightforward as there were several steep dips and climbs in between so it wasn't always possible to maintain a run. Once we reached the mast we enjoyed a lovely gambol along the good access road and we were soon on the main road where we returned few kilometers to the car. It hadn't been a long outing (an hour at most) but it packed a big punch in value terms and I was well pleased to return to our apartment where I had a late breakfast.
Into Coomcallee |
View from the apartments towards the hill |
A couple of hours later we were off on our travels again. Margaret was going to see a garden near Glengarriff and I was taking the chance to run through the national park that fills the this most beautiful valley. From the garden I ran down the five or so kilometers into the village of Glengarriff. This is a fairly busy road but thankfully today traffic was light and I was able to enjoy the views down to the beautifully forested valley below and the savage looking hills that rise up from the other side. Once in the village I turned right and quickly right again and followed the signs for the Beara Way. Now I had left the busy road well and truly behind and I went along a beautiful lane that went through tranquil native woodland broken at times by rocky buttresses and often giving glimpses of the stunning hills that soar all around. I was now quite tired and the couple of little bars I had brought were now gone but I reckoned I was over half way around. Eventually I left the woodland behind and I found myself running through an open wild and rugged unspoiled landscape. Soon I entered a lovely valley called Coomerkane that was a verdant oasis of green fields amid this otherwise savage place. There were several homesteads here and sheep and lambs were again all about. As I continued I became concerned that I couldn't see the way out of this area and sure enough I soon arrived at a dead end. Bugger and dammit the legendary Mc Auliffe route finding had once again emerged and I had no choice but to turn around and retrace my steps. I met a young woman walking with her dogs and she told me I had to go back to the last junction and then go left. Sorted.
The back of Coomerkane |
Typical Beara scenrty |
Homestead in a wild and savage land |
Towards Barley Lake |
The Sneem River |
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