Tuesday, August 27, 2013


We are finished two of our three day bus tour now and I have confirmed that I am not a bus tour person.  That being said I have had a lot of fun and the other people on the tour have been great to get to know.  Yesterday we headed west from Dublin and worked our way through the countryside.  We spent the night in Galway with some Galway Hookers (which is the name of the local micro brewed beer, get your mind out of the gutter).

Today we drove down the coast and saw the Cliffs of Moher, a very famous natural wonder.  The clouds rolled in off the Atlantic just after we arrived so we missed the full effect but what we saw was incredible.  Of course as we pulled away the sun came out.  Tonight we are in a little town whose name I can't recall, a downside of the bus.  But it is beautiful.

Tomorrow we head to Cork and Blarney Castle, then back to Dublin for the night.  Thursday we head back to Belfast and are meeting some new friends for dinner.  It has been a great trip.


Sunday, August 25, 2013

A tale of two cities


Over this weekend we have spent time in the largest city in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  Belfast appeared on the surface to be dull, an industrial working class city that tourists over look because of a troubled past and few shiny attractions hand fed to them on a silver platter.  Dublin on the other hand is vibrant, colourful and full of history, named the UNESCO City of Literature, we both anxiously awaited our time in Dublin.

Belfast had the Titanic Experience which opened last year and was put together very well and after touring thatI spent most of my day just wandering the streets.  That evening we had a steak dinner at McHugh's Bar, in one of the oldest buildings in Belfast, served "on the rocks" where we cooked our own steaks on hot volcanic rocks at the table.  That evening we stopped at The Crown Bar to get out of the rain and to enjoy a few pints at the oldest bar in Belfast, this turned out to be a very fun evening and we met some very lovely people.

Dublin is home to the Guinness Factory as well as the Jameson Irish Whiskey Distillery.  Our evening finished with a literary pub crawl.  Sunday we took the time to enjoy other parts of the city which are less dependent on alcohol and included The Book of Kells at Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral, a walk in the footsteps of some of the best writers in the world and Temple Bar.

At first I didn't like Belfast but once I toured Dublin I can only describe it like this; Dublin is the cute, baby faced little brother, who knows he is cute and milks it for all it is worth.  Naturally he gets the greater amount of attention.  Belfast is the dark, grittier older brother who the family ignores.  Misunderstood and first but hard working, steadfast and incredibly interesting once you get to know him.  And I've always been a fan of the black sheep.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

You know you're an Ulster Way hiker when....


24 km is a rest day
It is easier and shorter to list what doesn't hurt
You know all the bus schedules in NI
You can spot a stile from 1/2 a mile away
You pass along beside a fence or gate and eye how you would climb it with a pack
You clothes are packed in groups of wearable and disgusting
You're in bed by 8 pm every night and the nights you go out for dinner one beer makes you giddy.
You lose weight eating fried and battered food at every meal
Half way through you have a list of gear being tossed before heading home
You can read a map that doesn't list street names
In 2 weeks you've talked to more sheep than people
The only towns in NI you can name are places with accommodations along route
You're in bed asleep before the rest of the b and b guests even arrive
You only turn down rides offered by passing motorist so you can get your mile count in for the day or when you are in Murder Hole.
Pharmacy workers are very concerned by the amount of pain treatment meds you purchase.
You are following a trail with more livestock hoof prints than foot prints.
You have more water in your boots than in your camelback.
In the beginning you have the taxi driver drop you 1/2 mile from your start point so you don't miss it, by the end when the driver offers to drive you the 3 miles up the hill from where you wanted to start, and you take it.
You wonder daily why it is you haven't met any other people the whole trip who are also hiking the whole route.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

My favourite section

Our accommodations in Belcoo



Yesterday was and I am sure will remain my favourite section of the trail.  We traveled from Florencecourt (near Enniskillen) to Belcoo.  The trail included the Cuilcagh Way, it started at the Florencecourt House where we were able to stay just down the road.  The Victorian style manor house, I believe was the recent site of the G8 meetings which Northern Ireland hosted.  The trail weaved around the grounds then went cross country through farm land.  The trail was well marked even if the directions said things like "follow a farm track" which I would interpret as a lane or vehicle track but turned out to be what we would call a cowpath.  Half way through the day we arrived at Marble Arch Caves Geopark, and took the time for a tour down into the caves.  From here our trail took us into the town of Belcoo our final destination for the day from the Republic.  In all it was about an 18 km section which saw us in and out of the Republic.

The next section was supposed to have us walk into Belleek, where I was really looking forward to going but it is not going to work out.  The 42 km section is pretty remote and there is only one place to stay on route and it would mean a 30 km day or so with our packs, and no way to get out of Belleek until Saturday so we are day hiking again and Belleek remains the hardest town in Northern Ireland to get in to or out of.  Only two more days of hiking then we are throwing in the towel and becoming regular tourists for a week.
The trail past Marble Arch Caves


The road into Belcoo looking back into the Republic





Saturday, August 17, 2013

Canadian Connection



The other day I badly needed a rest day (more information on injuries to come) and Lisa didn't so she went hiking on a popular section of the trail and I spent the day sightseeing as a typical tourist. I started the day by heading to Rostrevor, which is officially on route as the end of the Mourne Mountain section but we missed it since we only dayhiked through the Mourne's.  Rostrevor isn't a big town but I wanted to go and see the Ross Monument and pay my respects.  This monument stands on the land where General Ross originally from the town planned to build his retirement home.  The General died while in Canada and never had the chance. He is most famous for his role in the war of 1812.  It was General Ross who led the British Army on a march to Washington, driving the President into hiding and it was Ross who oversaw the burning of the White House. Rumour has it that Ross finished the President's breakfast before burning the residence. That was the battle which also inspired "The Star Spangled Banner" a fact that is emphasized here as opposed to Canada's freedom.

The Ross Monument




On another note many Irish people we have met are very familiar with Canada and have been there recently or know someone who has immigrated for work.  Perhaps because of this a handful of a local convenience store chains called Spar actually sell Tim Horton's coffee and baked goods, which is pretty cool.  I haven't tried it if you are wondering as once this trip already I had to break my no American chain restaurant rule and I'd rather not do it twice

Pictures to follow if I can get them off my phone.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The Mourne Mountains


The past two days were spent in Newcastle in the shadow of the Mourne's. This section of the trail was 42 km through the mountains with no place to stay along the way.  We decided to just do day hikes up there instead of tackling the entire thing. The first day we hiked up Slieve Donard at 853 m it is the highest peak in the mountain range. The ocean views were incredible as well as seeing the Mourne Wall which encircles 15 mountain summits and stands 8 m tall; built originally in the 1920's to keep sheep and cattle out of the water networks in the mountains.

Today was a rest day for me to nurse my bad feet and ankles and Lisa did another short day hike up another mountain. Newcastle has been one of my favourite places so far and we still have half the trip to go.  By my calculation I have hiked 265 km (approximately) so far.

The Mourne's from the Newcastle promenade
The Mourne Wall from 3/4 the way up

Monday, August 12, 2013

The Lecale Way


For the past two days we have been traveling along a semi-popular route called the Lecale Way.  The trail has followed the coast heading in a southwest direction and taken us through many lovely small towns and rural areas.  The weather continues to be great and it has been fun to see the local farmers taking off straw and barlage.

We started this section in Strangford, after taking a three hour bus trip which included five transfers from Bangor.  The first night we stayed in a B and B in Ardglass and we finished the route in Newcastle, in the shadow of the Mourne Mountains.  Being the eternal optimists that we are we thought we could hike from Ardglass to Newcastle in one day without a problem. However, it turned out that would be over 30 km, on sore feet. We made it to Ballykinler and had to call it a day, still putting in 25 km.  Karma was smiling on us; just as we were about to call a taxi one pulled into the gas station we were at and was able to give us a lift. We made it to Newcastle where we will spend two nights.  It is a beautiful town squished between the sea and the Mourne Mountains.  Tomorrow we
tackle the biggest peak on the trail, luckily without our packs, tomorrow we are day hikers!

Our Lunch Spot that day



Sunday, August 11, 2013

Trip Reboot

We sat in Dungiven the other night searching for bus routes to get us to Belleek, the sections of the trail between Dungiven and Belleek were lower priority sections for us and in the interest of time we decided to skip them and circle back at the end if possible. The problem was that between these two small towns, bus service took five hours and only ran on Thursdays and Saturdays, and of course we wanted to travel on a Friday. This was our first night under a roof since our camping adventure and we were exhausted.  We tried bus route combination after combination to get us down there to no avail. Lisa found a bus/train combo to Holywood, which was the last town prior to entering Belfast on our journey, and it was only a three hour trip. We decided to go there and begin the hike again in a clockwise direction, which by the way is how our directions are written. So we hoped this would make it easier to find our way.

To paint a picture if you look at a map, we began in Belfast almost two weeks ago and headed north to Ballycastle, then west along the Northen coast to Castlerock, from there we headed almost straight south to Dungiven, then hopped the bus and headed straight east to Holywood and are now making our way South and west  along the coast back to Belleek. Basically we are completing our version of the Ulster Way in a figure eight pattern.

The sun was shining when we began again and it was a beautiful trail to follow to Bangor. It is  refreshing to be back on the coast and back in civilization, we even went out to a pub for dinner that night and had two drinks (which was a big deal!). We are on for a week or so very popular sections so there are plenty of way markers and an easy trail to follow. After our reboot, everything seems to be bouncing our way and I am confident we made the right decision.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Camping in the North Sperrin Mountains

A few days ago we sat in a restaurant in Derry/Londonderry pondering how we would get through the next section; a 60 km stretch with no food, water or accommodations available aside from the start and the end. We passed a outdoor store which was having a sale and decided we should camp for 2 nights.  So we purchased a couple of sleeping bags, a two man tent, mini cook stove, pots, tarp, extra pack covers and a bunch of food from the dollar store (PoundWorld) and we were set. Back at our hotel that night we rigged everything up to our packs to ensure we could carry the extra weight. It added about 5 pounds to my pack and about 10 to Lisa's as she volunteered to carry the tent.

Tuesday morning we were off, after a short train ride to Castlerock we went into the forest and began climbing through the mountain range.  Remember when I say mountain range it is not the Rockies with the highest peak measuring 450 m gain but it was tough going.  Upon reaching the top of one mountain on the first day we were rewarded with views well worth the work. Day one we hiked about 20 km, day two 26 km and the last day about 14 km into town.  We camped where we could and purified water with the system I brought from home and made it work. Our directions from the website were sketchy at times so some time was lost wandering through fields looking for our next sign post, but the map clearly showed a place called "Murder Hole" which we practically ran through. On the third day when we walked into Dungiven, I was very happy to see a town again, a comfortable bed and hot shower were well earned.

Due to time constraints we had to revisit the route we would take to continue on, bus schedules also were not working to our advantage but we came up with a plan and more details will follow.

Monday, August 5, 2013

We have decided to modify the route slightly and hike our own version of the Ulster Way.  There are too many things to see and do while we are here to just spend our time hiking. For example we will side trip into the famous city of Derry/Londonderry on Sunday and cut out a day of hiking through a duller non sign posted section later on.  This will give us a rest day before embarking on the Sperrin Mountain section of the trail.  The amount of extra kilometers we put on in a day walking to and from our accommodations and around the sights will make our total about the same. We already passed over 100 kilometers mid-day Saturday.


Sunday, August 4, 2013

Causeway Coastal Route

The last few days we have been following the Causeway Coast trail along the north shore of the island.  This is also the most popular section of the Ulster Way for day hikers and the trail markers and services are plentiful.  Steep in history and points to see we have taken our time and enjoyed the views. We have stopped at Carrick-a-rede bridge, Dunsilken castle, Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle and the Bushmill's Whiskey Distillery (the 12 year old malt was delicious). The scenery is the real attraction as we travel along the coastal cliffs and across sandy beaches. Sometimes we are only a few feet from the edge and asking the wind to not change directions quickly. Friday we hiked 26 km and Saturday was 18 km and my body is slowly adjusting to the pack while I walk, the fewer hills we climb the better. We continue to get the "you must be crazy looks" when we tell people why we're here but it makes for good conversations.  I figured out how to upload pictures here finally. Getting ready to say goodbye to the ocean, Sunday we turn south and head across country for 10 days or so.
Trail leading to Giant's Causeway
Giant's Causeway


View from our hostel Friday and Saturday night


Saturday, August 3, 2013

Meet George and Bertha

George and Bertha have become our best friends on the trip, we rarely go anywhere without them and they house a variety of necessities and treats which make our time more comfortable; George and Big Bertha are what we have named our packs.
Mine weighs in around 24 lbs and Lisa's is about 31 lbs they contain all of this

 and almost double the physical space we occupy at any given time. While attached, I have had more than once feeling of being a "bull in a china shop". They carry everything we need but we leave them if we can to rest ourselves; sometimes we can drop them at our accommodations early and continue on our way or sometimes at tourist spots the employees have allowed us to hold them behind the counter while we enjoy the attraction. It always makes us laugh when people especially men look at us and say "that's a big bag!" They get whipped around in the wind, wet when it rains and smelly with our dirty clothes but they are our lifeline and where we go they must as well.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Two days of hiking are complete and we are almost 100 km into the route. Day 1 was a fair amount of uphill on roads then we went cross country through a forest. A wrong turn took us out to the highway about 1.5 km from where we should have been. When suddenly a thunderstorm was upon us and had us hightailing it for the closest bus stop, marking the end of the day. Day 2 had us travel by taxi back out to the trail and we were off again. Lots of trail markers on this section meant there were no mistakes to be made. We spent most of the day among the sheep, walking along a cliff overlooking the ocean with views of the North Channel and Scotland. There is a link section next and bad weather is arriving from the South so tomorrow will be an easier day. We are very close to one of, if not the nicest sections of the whole trip. On the look out for leprechauns...