The day opened to a view across from whence we had come to County Sligo. It was bright with a light breeze coming off the sea from the south west. High cirrus clouds obscure the full sun. The van thermometer reads 14C. We both had a good sleep. The fresh air is so thick and clean.
The road leaves Killybegs heading west and slowly climbs whilst twisting and turning. The trees all disappear. Moorland and the tufts of scrubby grass dominate. The landscape turned harsh. The single track road is rough in places and total concentration is needed for it climbs and dips and turns into blind corners. There are sheer drops with no protection should you stray. Slowly does it.
Our first stop of the day is to Slieve League. The magnificent cliffs are a highlight of the Donegal coastline. We have to leave the van in a car park around a mile and a half from the viewing platform. The road from there to the platform climbs sharply to begin with to get the heart and legs pumping then climbs less sharply for the rest of the way. The reward is this……..
The breeze coming off the sea is forced up. It cools your face and continues up to produce orographic cloud on the peaks. All you can do is stare, watch the wheeling seabirds, smell the salt on the breeze and take it all in. We retrace our steps.
The Wild Atlantic Way hugs the rugged coastline. The day brightens and we catch glimpses of white sand beaches with blue seas. They would happily be at home in the Seychelles.
The road stays high above sea level. Tiny little ports appear and I have no idea why they should be there. I can only think they are for fishing boats to land their catch but really I have no clue. But somebody went to some expense to build it.
It is tough going on this road. It is bumpy and very narrow. The only saving grace is that traffic is few and far between. But the concentration takes it out of you. The crockery rattles and shakes in the cupboards. The dog just lies on her coach and seems to ignore it all. The road bursts into civilisation at the small town of Ardara. With its little supermarket and shops it is a magnet for the local communities. No sooner do you enter it when you leave again back onto serpentine roads.
We stop in a layby to take a shot of this view. I spy a French passport dropped on the road. I retrieved it. What to do next? I opened it and using the name and photo I tried facebook and instagram to try and find the owner with no luck. I find the address on google maps but it does not help. I found a room key for a Brittany ferry crossing from Roscoff to Cork tucked in among the pages so I called Brittany Ferries in Cork and explained the issue. I said to the lady to look on the manifest for that sailing and she should have this persons contact details. I left her my phone number to pass on should the person call in a panic. She said she could not help me and I should hand it in to the Garda (Irish Police). No chance of that as we are remote for a few days so I kept the passport safe. We continued on.
We arrived at our campsite for the night. The delightful Sleepy Hollow campsite in the village of Meenalacky whose claim to fame is that the pub, Leos Tavern, is the home of Enya and Clannad the Irish band. This is our best campsite so far. Small, intimate, spotlessly clean and Ian and Nic who own the place are just a delight.
As we were setting up our pitch for the night. I had a missed call on my mobile. A French number. I called it back. “Brittany Ferries tells me you have my passport” says the man on the phone. I tell him I do but can he confirm his date of birth in the passport which he does. He is just over an hour away. He arrives and thanks me. He did not even know he had lost it until Brittany Ferries called him.
To celebrate we go to the pub with the dog.
We are greeted by the locals as if we were long lost friends. The pub fills up. They all love the dog.
After a Guinness or two we walked back to the campsite. I am knackered. The driving today had been tough even if it was not a lot of miles. These Donegal roads take time to navigate.
Todays distance: 79 miles
Total distance: 1281 miles
Woodend Wanderer 