Cycling the Connor Pass and A Hike up Brandon.

Thursday July 16th;

I went to the Dingle Peninsula a while back to enjoy a couple of days in one of my favourite places, Cloghane. I took my bike again and the plan was to have a big old cycle and the following day go for a hike on Brandon. I had looked at staying in Castlegregory but when I tried to book a spot for my tent I discovered that the three caravan/camping parks were booked through until the end of August. I rang O'Connors guesthouse in Cloghane, who have a basic little camping area behind the house, and I was in luck. I booked in for the night and set off west.

On the way back the weather deteriorated and for several miles the cloud was right down and it was blowing a heavy drizzle. I very nearly turning around as there didn't seem much point in going all that way and not being able to enjoy anything in the way of a view. As I approached Castleisland the skies lightened and suddenly I emerged beyond the poor weather and it was mostly blue skies to the west. All doubts were gone and I continued on my way. I decided to park at the supermarket in Castlegregory and begin my cycle from there. My plan was to cycle back to Camp and from there take the mountain road that skirts under Caherconree, and follow this as it descends to the southern shore of the peninsula east of Inch. From there I would go as far as Dingle and then over the Connor Pass and back to my car. It was a beautiful warm sunny day when I set off at 11.40. A mostly flat road and a following wind made the first 9 kilometres lovely and easy. Once I turned off the main road towards Camp the hills arrived. Two phone calls arrived while I was heading up the hill, and while I was glad of the break, it is a bitch trying to start off on a steep slope. Once past the village, a lovely undulating few kilometres follow until you reach the serious climbing. It is very steep in places for short bursts before you climb up into open mountain scenery, where the mighty Caherconree looms above you. It is beautiful but the hill that most catches the eye is the terribly steep section of road that leads to the crest of the pass. It is not very long ( perhaps 200 metres) but with a gradient of over 20% I knew it was well beyond my abilities to pedal up it. I dismounted and actually struggled to walk up it in the bike shoes.

It would be hard to crowd the vast expanse of Inch Beach

A rest for a drink and a chance to soak up the views before I set off on the descent. The descent was fairly steep and the narrow road was quite rough, so I had to keep a tight rein on the speed which had my grip aching by the time I reached the Dingle road. It was something of a relief to reach level ground but my relief was short lived as I turned directly into the wind and of course there was now quite a bit of traffic. Still, I was in no hurry and I just pedaled in gear I could manage. The sand dunes at Inch were a long time getting near but eventually I reached the busy beach resort. The next 5 kilometres is without doubt one of the most lovely roads in the country. You gradually rise to  over 40 metres above the ocean and the views across the water to the mountains of the Iveragh Peninsula is a delight. Just before the road turned inland I was treated to the sight of Gannets diving for fish close to shore. Once I reached the Tralee Dingle road the next 6 kilometres is surprisingly hilly. It is fair to say that I wasn't in the best of form and things were all a bit of a struggle but the final stretch into Dingle offered some easier going. Next up was the Grade 2 climb over the Connor Pass. I didn't know whether I was looking forward to it or dreading it..most likely a bit of both.

Looking towards Brandon from the Connor Pass

Once I skirted the busy little town I reached the road for the pass. It isn't too steep with a fairly consistent gradient of around 6%. Normally I would be okay on a slope like this but today I was finding it increasingly hard. After a couple of kilometres the ground becomes wilder and the gradient increases by perhaps a percent. I had to put the bike into the lowest gear and even then I struggles to keep going. I would love to say that the next four kilometres were a lot of fun but I suffered. At long last I saw a sign for the final 500 metres and I knew I would make it. At the pass I dismounted and took a ten minute break before setting off on the long descent towards Castlegregory. Initially the road  is very narrow and twisting but after a kilometre the road widens and with a good surface I was able to made swift progress. It was all easy cycling as far as Castlegregory but I was still very relieved to dismount by the car. It was sunny and warm and I basked in a day well spent. The rigours of the day melted away as I later went for a swim in the nearby Maherees and after relaxing for a while I felt recovered. I drove to Cloghane and enjoyed an idyllic evening in the sun and just relaxed.

Towards Slievanea from the campsite

Mine was the smaller tent

If you are going for a dip there are worse places.

The cycle had covered  74 kilometres, climbed over 1100 metres and taken me almost 4 hours.

Friday July 17th;

The plan for today was to get a decent hike in on the Brandon hills. The forecast was for rain to arrive in the early afternoon so I had hoped that I would get to enjoy some of the mountains before it arrived. Well, the rain had arrived during the night and it brought a stiff wind with it. A big day on the mountains didn't hold much appeal this morning and I even contemplated returning home without doing any hiking at all. Some sense prevailed and I decided to do a quick up and down of Brandon itself. I drove up as far as the car park near the grotto and set off in the clag and rain. It is a straightforward trail and with nothing like a view to distract me I just plodded along. The steep section up above the paternoster lakes wasn't too bad but when I topped out onto the main ridge not far from the 952 metre summit, the wind carried large drops of rain that arrived horizontally and with speed and stung my face. It most certainly didn't feel like high summer. A quick up and back from the summit and I reentered the relative shelter of the descent to the lakes. Down and ever down and I was like a drenched rat by the time I got back to the car. My Rab Latoc jacket isn't proving very waterproof these days and I think I will have to get a new hard shell. That is for another time though. It took me 2 hours 50 mins to cover the 9 kilometres and 830 metres ascent. It was great to put on some dry clothes.

About as much as was to be seen all day.