I took the plunge and booked a week off work for the third week in May and set off west to one of my favourite campsites, Mannix Point in Cahersiveen. I booked in for four nights and I must say I was looking forward to it. All I needed now was some decent weather. Well as luck would have it the forecast was rubbish and stiff winds and mostly rainy days were to be my lot.
Tuesday May 19th;
My plan was simple, pack in some cycling, running, hiking and fishing. Basically all I like to do. My first order of business was to get some bait for the fishing so I stopped in Rossbeigh and dug some lugworm and collected a good few peeler crabs, which when added to the frozen bait I already had meant I was set fair. I even managed to get my digging done in between squally showers so I was happy and relieved as I drove through the rain to Cahersiveen. Now all I had to do was get the tent up. Once again I was lucky and the rain stayed away until about five minutes after I had everything done. Result. It was now after 3pm so I didn't really have the time or the inclination to do anything other than a run. I have been nursing a knee injury to my right knee. I don't know if it is a hamstring or ligament problem but it has definitely curtailed my activities of late. I had taken a fortnight off running until a few days before I left and the few runs I had done went well, much to my relief. I didn't want to overdo it so I decided that a gentle 8 or 10 kilometres would be fine. I set off into town and crossed the bridge and headed towards White Strand. Not that I had any intention of going that far, By the time I reached the junction above the playing field I had covered four kilometres so I reckoned a kilometre further would be enough. As it turned out I went as far as the spectacular stone ringforts and turned for home from there. I was well pleased with myself to have done a reasonable 12 kilometres on day one and thankfully the knee wasn't too sore afterwards. The weather was showing some signs of improvement so I headed to the lovely beach at Reenroe to try a spot of surfcasting. It was high tide by the time I got there and the big swell was crashing right to the back of the beach so I stayed on a grassy platform near the road and fished hard for over two hours without any success. At least it stayed dry while I was at the beach but it rained heavily into the night and the wind ensured that the tent was given a stiff test. Still the forecast for tomorrow was a little better.
Wednesday May 20th;
After a windy rainy night it was a relief to wake this morning and find that at least the rain had stopped. There was more of a breeze than I would have liked and the cloud still hung low on the hills. The plan for today was to go for a cycle and the route I had planned wouldn't be too big but would be about 70 kilometres and a reasonable amount of climbing but would hopefully offer amazing views, especially in the St Finnans Bay area.
I set off through the town shortly after 10am and I must say I was regretting not wearing more clothes. I just had a t-shirt inside my rainproof jacket and a long sleeve top would have been better. I reckon it was struggling to hit 10 degrees. I hoped that the long drag to the pass at Coar would warm me up and it did to a degree but the long descent on the far side was again chilly. Once I reached the Waterville road I turned into the breeze. It was about 16 kilometres to reach the ring of Kerry road so I didn't push too hard and stayed in a gear I could easily manage. Of greater concern was the fact that there seemed to be a mist coming inland from the sea and by the time I reached Dromid it was drizzling steadily and this soon turned to rain Now I really regretted not having that extra layer on. Add to this the fact that the cloud was now very low so this meant my hoped for views around St Finnans Bay wouldn't be seen so it was an easy decision to cut the outing short. Instead I cycled most of the way to Ballinskelligs and then turned towards Cahersiveen. It ended up being a 55 kilometre outing so it wasn't too bad. I arrived back at the campsite chilled and soaked but the warm shower and fresh clothes made me feel good again. A decent lunch in the excellent kitchen of the site and I was ready for the rest of the day.
The weather improved and the rain stopped and patches of blue sky appeared as I drove towards Waterville where I planned to fish the golf course beach for a few hours. Conditions looked excellent and the weather was actually quite nice but I didn't get a nibble. Disappointed, I packed up at 6pm and decided to try Reenard Pier on my way back. The wind out at the end of the pier was really strong and when you add in the return of the rain I decided to retreat back to my tent. Once again it rained and blowed into the night.
Thursday May 21st;
After a fairly wild and wet night I rose to a less windy but still wet morning. It was a day for a run. I wouldn't go up any hills as the cloud was still down to about 200 metres so I decided to do the Laharn Bog Trail, a waymarked route around Bentee that was about 15 kilometres long but as I was starting a kilometre off the trail it should be 17 kilometres.
Oh dear but I felt rough at the start of the run. My knee hurt and as it was uphill for the first kilometre I struggled badly. Thankfully things eased after a while and once I reached the trail road things levelled off and my knee started to feel okay as well. I didn't know what to expect from the route but at least it was something new to me so I was looking forward to it. After six kilometres of running on quiet country lanes the trail turned onto a green road that crossed wild boggy ground before it reached another road. After a few hundred metres this road became a forest track that was a delight for the next couple of kilometres before it ended when it reached the road I had earlier left. Now I was once again on tarmac but the going was easy as over the next four kilometres the road descended gently and traversed under the slopes of Bentee and a wide expanse of bog on the right. I knew that the trail joined the Kerry Way as it neared Cahersiveen but I managed to miss the turnoff. I stayed on the road until it reached the busy main road outside the town and followed this back to the campsite. It added a little distance to the outing but avoided a little climbing so I was just as happy. Once again I was soaking wet when I got back but well pleased to have completed an 18.5 kilometre run. The longest I had done since the start of February. In the evening I went to Reenard Pier for another attempt at fishing and once again the wind made it hard work. When heavy rain arrived after a couple of fruitless hours I called it a day.
Friday May 22nd;
Finally the forecast was for the day to be mostly dry. After the run yesterday my knee was quite tight but I was determined to get a hike in. There was a fair bit of cloud about but I could see Drung hill in the distance and it's summit was clear of cloud so I decided to head in that direction. I drove up to the place where the Kerry Way meets a country lane and I parked there. I decided that I would climb Been Hill and go from there as far as Drung Hill and return to the car on the Kerry Way. I walked along the trail for a couple of kilometres until I reached a spot where I could easily gain access to the south-westerly spur of Been Hill. This rises fairly gently to the broad top and doesn't present any difficulties. Once again the wind was strong and I had my hat and coat on the whole time. The highest tops of Terromoyle and Com Na Charria where covered by the cloud but thankfully I was able to enjoy views almost all the time. I was pleased that my knee had loosened out and it didn't present too many issues on the way up. I hoped that the descent would also be okay.
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| Looking back towards Cahersiveen |
As luck would have it a veil of cloud swept across the summit when I arrived so I wasted no time in heading to the next top Beenmore. The gentle descent to the col went well as did the climb to the summit and as I was once again free of cloud I was able to enjoy the views down to Comnacronia lake, the first of a total of six lakes that nestle in the Glenbeigh Horseshoe. Once on top I walked the kilometre to Drung hill and then dropped steeply to the Kerry Way some 350 metres below. I followed the way for the six kilometres and finally reached my car. When I started driving back the rain once again arrived with a vengeance. It was just that sort of week. I had really enjoyed the outing. 15 kilometres, almost 1000metres ascent in just over four hours.
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| Towards Rossbeigh from Drung Hill |
It did clear up again in the evening so I ventured to Coonana pier for a couple of hours fishing. It wasn't great but at least it was sheltered enough to fish easily and a couple of Ballan Wrasse obliged. This basically ended the adventure as I returned home the following morning. I also returned minus my tent as the wind had rent a one foot tear in the flysheet and I could see another area that was about to go as well. It was a not very expensive one from Decathlon which I had used a fair bit since Covid and had served me very well. I shall get another one.
