The last leg - Day 7

I made it! I'm in Dublin, just about to tuck into some Irish beef chilli con carne, drinking a Guinness, and listening to some fab live music.

This morning I decided to take a bit of time to explore Drogheda before heading off. Check out was 11, but I packed everything on the bike ready to go when I got back - this also meant that if I wasn't back for 11 everything was out the room, and I wouldn't be charged for an extra night! I took a walk along the main Street and popped into St Peters church. A gorgeous building built as a Catholic church in the 19th century, unusually inside the town walls as the penal laws at the time decreed that all catholic churches must be outside the town walls. The church is the home of the head of St Oliver Plunkett - archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland who was hung drawn and quartered by the Protestant English state for practising and converting people to Catholicism. The head is on display, but I didn't take a picture as I wasn't sure if it would be deemed offensive to the few people who were there. The building itself is beautiful though, with gorgeous stained glass windows in each trancept and carvings throughout. I'm not at all religious, but I do find churches to be very peaceful places.

After leaving St Peters, I walked back along the street hoping that Highlanes would be open, an art gallery within part of what used to be a franciscan monastery. Unfortunately it was closed, and didn't open until 10.30. A little further along the street though I came across St Laurence's gate - a Barbican gate surviving from around the 13th century. Amazing to think it has been standing for over 700 years! I headed back along the street to a tourist office which was in another historic building - the Tholsel, which was where all business and commerce would have taken place a few centuries ago. They advised me to visit the Millmount before leaving, I still had an hour and it was fairly close, so I decided to check it out.

I found it without too much trouble and went in, the cost was just a few euros, but I hadn't yet been to a cash machine, and they didn't take cards! It's ok, I could have a look round the museum while the weather was a bit showery, then go to the petrol station round the corner and then see the tower. Noel who worked there was great, and pretty much gave me a personal tour of parts of the exhibit and the tower itself. They have some of the oldest guild banners in Ireland, and tons of photos and artefacts from over the years. Ranging from an impressive telephone and exchange collection, to toy prams, to a coracle or currach - a woven, then hide covered paddle boat used widely in Ireland and parts of Scotland for fishing. Once I'd had a look round I set off to a find that cash machine.

Maybe it's just me, but I have found that Irish people seem to be quite bad at giving directions! 'Just go up round there and turn this way and you'll see it no problem' had left me confused on a few occasions on this trip! I found the petrol station eventually only to find there was no machine, cash back was available so I bought a sandwich and juice for later, and then discovered that my prepay euro card wouldn't allow cashback d'oh. Next nearest cash machine directions again a bit vague....finally found one and made it back to the Millmount.

Dues paid, I got to see the tower.  The Millmount itself was originally actually a Norman motte, basically a watchtower, which was built further up into a fort, dismantled, built up again dismantled and built up... it had been much damaged in various skirmishes, but has now been restored to its pre civil war glory, and provides fabulous views across the city.  Needless to say I spent far longer there than I had planned. I headed back to the hostel, and finally set off just before one. I wasn't worried though, I figured I had a pretty easy days cycling ahead, and lots of time before I needed to be at the hostel - which I hadn't actually booked yet! I hadn't checked the exact mileage for the day either, but I figured between 40 and 50 miles depending on which route I took, on fairly flat roads for the most part. I had been given a few options by the helpful guys on the forum, and just needed to decide what to do.

To begin with I set off towards Balbriggan, planning to follow the coast down to Skerries, and then cut across towards Old Town and down into Dublin from there. The main piece of advice seemed  a to be at all costs avoid the road to Swords. Once out of Drogheda as expected the road was fairly flat, and before I knew it, I was speeding through Balbriggan and once again following the coast down towards Skerries. There are a couple of viewing platforms along this road and I stopped at one to admire the view, and also to phone the hostel I had booked for the following night to ask for a room tonight as well. Job done, I took another look at the map and realised there was a turn off towards Ardgillan Castle just a little before Skerries. Given I had not stopped much to admire anything other than the scenery I thought maybe this would be a good place to stop and eat the sandwich from earlier. I could head west towards Old Town from there.

Plan made I set off again, I hadn't considered that turning inland would mean a climb, but of course it did! I managed it fairly well though and was soon turning in the gates of the castle. After a minute or two following a little lane a fantastic vista opened out before me - sweeping green lawns with the narrow lane curving through it to head down to the castle itself, a grand old building set looking out to sea. I stopped at a bench and ate my lunch enjoying the sunshine. The showers had cleared as I left the hostel, and I had another fab day of weather - and if there was a bit of a headwind at points, for the most part I was glad of the breeze. I debated with myself about going down the road to the castle and having a proper look around, but in the end decided that I was content to have admired it from a distance.

I turned further inland, and soon found myself on undulating country lanes, more climbing than descent at this point, but rewarded with stunning views opening out between the trees, the farming country here is mostly crops rather than grazing land, although there is a little of that too. I soon found myself passing the restaurant bar Man o War, which is where I turned towards Old Town. The road descended again and I got a fabulous downhill for a bit, before it flattened out. The roads I was on were proper country lanes, at one point I crossed the busy road to Swords, which had been on the first route I created and soon discarded on the forum. I was very glad I had asked for advice!

Heading through Ballybroughal on the way to Old Town I passed a sculpted stone Celtic cross which had been erected to commemorate one of the uprisings, and soon after this the road was lined with big country houses, all sitting in their own grounds with beautifully manicured lawns and well kept gardens. It was extremely pretty.

I rolled into Old Town just before 4, and was going to carry on through, but there was a lovely looking old pub with benches right there. It was too inviting and I stopped for a drink. The barman Eugene was lovely, there were just 3 older men in the bar and they were all interested to hear about my trip. I took my lemonade outside after chatting a bit as it seemed very dark in there after the brilliant sunshine outside. I was surprised and touched when Eugene brought me out a notepad and pencil torch from Old Town as a gift.

Feeling much refreshed I set off again, and after pausing to check the route a couple of times soon found myself back on much busier roads. I was coming into Dublin on R135, busy, but with a bus lane I was using, it was also very wide and at first I was afraid I had strayed onto a main road that I wasn't supposed to be on, but I saw a cyclist struggling up the downhill I was enjoying on the other side, and soon after I was back in a cycle lane, and speeding down into Dublin city. I had made it. My phone directed me to one of the main thoroughfares, when I was sure I had input the hostel address, and then promptly died. I still had the tablet though, and soon found the hostel and my bed for the night.

After some time to freshen up and allow the phone to charge I was just thinking about heading out when 2 girls appeared, they were from Canada - but small world - one of them had been living in Edinburgh since last October, and the other was a friend visiting for a month. They had always wanted to visit Dublin together and decided to take the opportunity while she was here. After a bit of chat about the festivals and providing some tips I finally headed out to look for eats and found myself here at Buskers bar.

Hard to believe in less than another short 48 hours I will be back home.

St Peter's Church

Alter in St Peter's Church

The St Laurence barbican

Replica of the book of Kells

Mannequin waving Irish flag...

What the street leading to the barbican used to look like

Coracle or currach

Guild banners

Views from the Millmount tower

Old Town

DUBLIN!

Over the hills - Day 6

Somehow in yesterday's post I forgot to mention the Mourn mountains. They had been a presence for a good few miles before Newcastle and the town itself sits at the base with many trails starting just at the edge of the town.

Up at 7am I had spent some time rejigging my route for the day (more on that in a moment) before gong for a look around, the morning had again dawned bright and clear, and for a while at least it seemed that I would be cycling in the sunshine again, I went for a walk along the beach, the tide was out and it was a bit of a walk out to the water, finally getting the paddle I had missed since Irvine, I looked back at the town and the beach front with the mountains behind presented a stunning view! After taking in the quiet of the morning for a few minutes and enjoying the peacefulness of the beach - likely to be full to brim by the afternoon if the day before had been anything to go by, I headed back to the hostel to pack up and check out.

I had been looking at accommodation options for the past couple of days for tonight and tomorrow, and hadn't really had much luck. Ideally I had wanted to find something cheap in or around Dundalk, and then something else around Skerries, alas there does not seem to be much in the way of budget accommodation in these 2 places. I widened my search and realised that the nearest option was probably Drogheda, which happened to be in between the 2 places. If I kept to the plan to overnight in Dundalk, it would  I mean a pretty  short ride the following day, followed  by a longer ride into Dublin, meaning less time in the city, and I was already spending less time there than I would like.

Another option presented itself, could I make Drogheda tonight? It would mean the longest day cycling yet (and in fact the longest I had cycled in one day ever), as well as the most climbing of the trip. But might be possible. Alternatively, from Dundalk I could get the train to Drogheda depending on when I arrived there and how I felt. That would mean missing the road down past Castlebellingham, which was supposed to be very pretty, but on the plus side, it meant that I would be in Dublin on Wednesday night instead of Thursday lunchtime, and get a full day in the city before coming home on Friday. I checked the train times and it looked like it ran every 2 hours at 20 past the hour. Great.

Decision made I booked my accommodation and looked at my route. The original miles once through Tollymore forest park cut across to Newry and then down to Dundalk, but now it had been confirmed that the ferry between Greencastle and Greenore was open, I could cut down to the coast past Warren Point and Rostrevor instead and shave some miles and a climb off the route.

Plan in place and refreshed from my walk, I said farewell to Steph and got back on the bike. The road out of Newcastle climbed for a bit as expected - the map showed the first 10miles or so being almost completely up hill with another good climb a few miles further on. At least it would all be over with by lunchtime. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be however, and soon turned down again undulating a bit to the entrance to the park, because I wanted to enjoy the park, and because of the climbing while going through it, I expected to take a good couple of hours to traverse the first 10 miles.

The park was beautiful, the avenue leading in was full of fantastically shaped trees that looked ancient, and soon I was following the river along earth and gravel paths with trees and forest foliage on either side. The river had worn itself a gully and was mostly heard more than seen given the thick foliage around it. I was walking along the trails as much as cycling - partly because of the changing gradient, partly because of the rough terrain, and partly because I was just enjoying the experience. I could easily have spent a full day exploring the forest and might make my way back there in the future. I had taken the red trail, wanting to see the cascades, and thinking I might detour to the white fort, marked on the map. As it was I caught glimpses of the cascades, and completely missed a turn. The map only showed the marked trails, not any other paths of which there seemed to be quite a few. My signal was dropping in and out and I kept trying to check my location on Google maps against the park map to see where I was. I thought I was at the path to the fort and followed it, only to find myself at a junction. I gave up and turned back, as I rode back down the track to continue back on the path I had been following before the detour 2 tiny spotted deer crossed the path in front of me. I wished I had the action cam running - it really was a blink and you miss it moment!

Sure that at least this way I was heading in the right general direction to come out the other side, eventually I came to a viewpoint and stopped to admire the sweeping tree filled glen below me, with fields and farmhouses on the opposite slope. It was here I finally worked out that I was just coming out of the park - but not on the road I had planned to use! I was on Trassey road, it started out as an unpaved farm track, and soon became a paved road - uphill of course. Where it came out there happened to be a campsite with a cafe called Meelmore lodge. I waivered about going on but checked the time and it was half 11 - perfect timing for a cuppa.

On walking through the carpark to the cafe I was doubly glad of my decision. The mountains rose up just ahead of the campsite and the view was spectacular. The early morning sunshine had begun to be obscured by cloud cover as I was leaving Newcastle and by this point the sky was pretty much all clouds. They shrouded the peaks and produced a blue haze in parts. It was stunning, and lifted my spirits a bit. While I loved the forest and had enjoyed the journey so far, I had at the back of my mind all the climbing involved today. As mentioned previously I am not a lover of hills, and despite quite a bit of it having been through the park and so done already, in my mind I had built it up to be far worse than the actuality, and it had me feeling a bit blue about the next part of the ride. The fabulous backdrop, a slice of carrot cake and a rare cup of coffee while I decided on my next direction was just what I needed.

Because I had come out of the park on a slightly different road than planned, I had 2 options, head to Hilltown to rejoin the route to Warren point and then head down the side of Carlingford Lough, to get the ferry, or cut down through Attical and Kilkeel, which looked a bit shorter, and had been recommended by one of the guys on the forum. I decided to take the cut through, and don't regret it. There wasn't a huge difference in climb and it cut a couple more miles off the journey. And it was fantastically scenic.

The first little part was uphill, but the gradient wasn't too steep, I was resolved to relax and just enjoy the journey without worrying too much about what lay ahead. By this point I was passing though mountainous scenery, and could almost imagine myself in the Scottish highlands. The hills around me were covered in scrub grass and gorse, with the occasional grazing field for cardstock thrown in. I could see where streams had cleared the earth and vegetation away leaving rocky gullies in their wake. The main difference was the lack of heather on the hills. Closer to the road there were reed beds and marsh cotton (not sure what it's really called!) here and there mixed in where water off the hills had created biggy patches, and along side the road, wild grasses gone to seed, clover, buttercups and thistle were growing in abundance. And if I was only moving at 3/4/5miles an hour, at least I was moving! I felt much better, and chided myself - in the end today the mental challenge was harder to overcome than the physical one. Just goes to show how important your mindset can be when you are doing something you find difficult.

It was along Slievenaman road that I met Michael a farmer who lived locally. We chatted for a bit and I told him about my trip. He admittex for all that he had lived locally all hid life he had never been to Greenore. He was a lovely man, and told me that I was over the worst of the climb before we bade each other farewell. I took this with a pinch of salt, seeing a long slope ahead, and knowing from experience that drivers don't always realise the extent of the ups and downs they cover in a car. I was surprised to see a bus stop on coming towards the top of the slope, turns out there is a ramblers bus route that stops at the start and end of walks.  Fab idea! There was also a car park and what looked like the start of a trail, obviously a well trodden walk.

Once over the top I found that in this case Michael had the right of it. I had 8 easy beautiful miles to Kilkeel, with stretches of water in the near distance, some natural and some that looked like dams or reservoirs, I could soon see the scenery around me changing from mountains to lowland farms, passing many farmhouses and hamlets, I must have at least doubled my average speed with all the coasting I was doing. I was soon going down the hill into Kilkeel.

It was bigger than I had expected - a small town rather than a village, and the time now being just after 1 I decided to stop for lunch - Greencastle where I was to get the ferry wasn't even marked on the map without zooming right in and looked like a landmark rather than a village, and since the ferry service had only started a week or 2 ago I didn't expect much in the way of amenities. I stopped in at the Steaming Mug coffee house and refuelled with some very tasty vegetable soup and wheaten bread. It turned out one of the ladies there was from Perth and had visited her sister in Edinburgh just a couple of weeks back. Small world.

Setting off again, and it was an easy 5 miles to the ferry. The new service isn't very well signposted yet, but I followed the signs to Greencastle and found it ok. I realised on the way that I never had gotten round to buying euros, and hoped they took pounds as well or I might have an issue! They did, but in the end it was moot as I barely had any cash on me, and bought the ticket online instead. Thank goodness for technology and a working internet connection! I did need to sort the euro issue though. I remembered that I had a prepaid euro card which just lives in my purse, transferred some money on to it and was good to go. On the other side of the ferry waited the Republic of Ireland.

The people crossing seemed to be a mixed bunch - there were 2 other cyclists, a man and his grandson, just nipping across to Carlingford for an ice cream, they both had what looked like pretty decent roadbikes and i wS jealous of their lack of luggage! A lady who had taken a day trip with her mum, and people who were obviously on holiday, or just visiting, as well as a few I took to be commuting. The ferry was bearly full, and the man directing cars back at Greencastle had told me it was so far very popular.

Once on the other side it was back on the bike. The change in countries hit home when I saw my first roadsign. 24km to Dundalk.  For someone used to dealing on miles, I always have trouble doing the conversion in my head. I worked out this meant around 15 miles or so, and started pedalling. I stuck to the main road rather than detour round the coast, the flapmash (if you dont know, dony ask!) Was starting to make itself felt and i wanted to get to Dundalk. It was mostly easy going on fairly flat, if fast roads with cars whizzing by, but with a lane for slow vehicles for most of the distance I felt safe enough. The mountains had completely fallen away and it was rolling green farmland and small villages for the most part. I missed an opportunity to turn on to R132 which would have given me a quieter run into Dundalk itself, but caught the next one and made it into the town just before 5pm - just in time for the 5.20 train if I wanted to catch it. I knew I wasn't going to cycle the rest of the way, but I kind of wanted to see a bit of the town itself. I made a deal with myself. If I walked down the mainstreet, saw a sign for the train station, and made it in time I would get the 5.20 train, if not I would have dinner in Dundalk, wander about a bit and get the next one at 7.20.

Needless to say, I got the later train! I really liked the town and the main square has a water feature for kids to play in, as well as an installation of art prices telling the story of the 2 old men of Ireland. I won't tell you it, but you should go Google it or something. It explains how many of Ireland's places got their names. I had a bite to eat at a cafe looking over the square, (taco Tuesday's anyone?) And had a slight moment of panic when I couldn't remember the pin for the prepay card and had to use my normal card, but checked online and all i had to do for a reminder was phone up and answer some security questions. The cafe started closing up about 6, and I decided I should probably find the train station just in case it was difficult or far away.

In the end it was a fairly easy journey through a lovely park called ice house hill park - a beautiful space to have near the centre of the town. After checking directions with a couple of locals and chatting for a bit, I made it to the train station for 6.30.

I think it may be one of the prettiest stations I have ever been to. It had been restored to it's original character, had a ladies and a gentleman's waiting room, station masters office and other original features.  Warm yellow bricks, and hanging baskets of flowers all in bloom throughout finished it off nicely. I settled in to wait and began writing today's post.

When the train came I had to put the bike in the guards carriage at the front and run down past the first class carriages, and then the same in reverse when getting off! I was slightly worried the train would be off with the bike, but in the end all was well and the bike came with me instead of stranding me pedalless in Drogheda, and making its own way to Dublin.

Tonight's stay is in the Spoon and Star literally 2 minutes downhill from the station, and it's the busiest hostel I have stayed in so far. After a good chat and some ideas on what to do in the morning (checkout is 11, so I thought I'd spend an hour or so here before heading off again) it was time to finish the post and get to bed!

Night ya'll...

Newcastle from the beach - panorama

Newcastle from the beach 

From the viewing platform leaving Tollymore forest

Just before meeting Michael 

At Greencastle waiting on ferry

Good by NI!

Hello Eire

At Dundalk train station

View from train coming into Drogheda

At Dundalk train station

View back down Slievenaman road just about to cross over the top.

Legs don't tan...Day 5

What a fabulous day! 😁

I wasn't sure how I would feel this morning, but while my legs were still a tiny bit achey when I got up, they soon warmed up and the aches were left behind.

I had really enjoyed my time in Belfast and fully intend to go back at some point and stay for a few days while exploring the North Coast. Arnie's had been great, although the washing I had given them wasn't quite dry unfortunately. Not wanting to delay my start though, I packed it away in a plastic bag to hang up when I reached Newcastle. That's Newcastle, Ireland, before anyone says anything!

Leaving the hostel slathered in suncream, I was pleased to find that my route took me through the botanical gardens and along the river. I had considered a walk round here the day before as it was so close to the hostel, but didn't have time. It was a lovely start to the ride, and I was soon whizzing along Newtonards road. I paused along here to check my tyres at a David Kanes Cycles, and also put my seat up a tad as I was beginning to feel it could have been a bit higher. Wow. What a difference. There were some roadworks along here, but I was soon through them and on my way out of town. The road went by the Stormont estate and so I got another glimpse of the parliament buildings. There was a decent path next to the road,but no signs to say whether it was shared use or not, so I stuck to the road for a bit until finally coming through Dundonald it was advertised as a shared path. The traffic had been giving me a good berth, but was pretty fast, and I felt much better on the pavement. Soon enough though, my reserved bit of tarmac came to an end, we were just heading out of the built up area into the countryside when this happened. I was faced with a choice - carry on climbing a smallish hill on the fast road with the traffic, or take a slight detour along a quieter country lane that had a path alongside. I took the country lane.

I felt like I had plenty of time today, I had left Arnie's about 10, and check-in for my night in Newcastle was up to 9.30pm, so I had a good 11 and a half hours to cycle around 50 miles. It really took the pressure off and meant I could relax a bit and just enjoy the ride.

The little lane climbed for a bit, nothing too strenuous, and while the traffic was much quieter many of the vehicles going by were trucks or lorries. I was still on my bit of pavement though, so didn't feel too bad. The scenery here was farmland for the most part, planted with crops. I soon reached the top of the hill, and had a lovely sweeping downhill into Newtonards - this was to be a theme for the day. I couldn't believe I was there already, it felt like I had barely left Arnie's, but looking at the time I realised it was an hour and a half since I'd set out. Not too bad considering a few stops to work out how to get from the river embankment to Newtonards road out of Belfast and sort the bike.

I took the opportunity to sit in the sun for a bit and had a chocolate milkshake from a cafe, I also bought a couple of bananas and some cherries to snack on through the day. Break time over it was time to go again, and I was soon heading down the east side of the Strangford Lough (pronounced loch for Scottish readers - English or other languages, I don't know what sound to equate it to!) The first section of this is pretty flat and while quite a few cars went by again I found most drivers gave me plenty space, with just the odd one coming a bit close. As the road is fairly marrow I did pull in a few times to let the build up of cars pass me by. 

There is something about travelling next to water that calls to me and the Lough was gorgeous, the shore varying between what looked like sand/mud flats with vegetation, and shell beaches. There are a couple of stopping points with benches for people to enjoy the view and go for a paddle. I took the opportunity to stop at one of these to eat one of my bananas and shared a table with a lovely retired couple from Bangor, out enjoying the sunshine for the day. They had travelled extensively in Scotland and loved it, I agreed I am lucky to live there, but Ireland is just as beautiful, especially on such a gloriously sunny day.

Strangford Lough

Carrying on the road veered away from the Lough slightly, just catching glimpses of it every so often. It also changed from being almost flat to undulate slightly, and I had to work a little harder. The road was taking me through rolling farming country, a mix of fields for grazing live stock - both sheep and cows, and planted fields of crops interspersed with the odd pocket of wild plants. Trees and hedges marked the field boundaries, and the breeze was full of dandelion wishes. Every so often a ruined watchtower or castle would appear, and I tried to take a picture on the action cam, but they came and went so quickly I'm not sure I caught any - this happened a fair bit throughout the day with various sights, I hope I got at least a few of them!

I was soon rolling down a lovely sweeping descent into Portaferry.

I followed the road down to the ferry landing - and then walked back up the hill to get some juice from the shop!

I got there about 1.40, just in time for the 1.45 sailing, but didn't realise and missed it as they only take cash and I walked back up the hill to get money out the machine, I also grabbed a couple of ice lollies and irn bru (I had not expected to find this in NI or Ireland to be honest, but was glad to see it!) and by the time I walked back down I was just in time to see the ferry pulling away. It was a lovely little place though, I spent the next half hour taking a wander up the street and back and then took the opportunity to call my friend Amanda who had called me earlier in the day. The ferry arrived while we were on the phone and had docked on the other side by the time we finished chatting (it only took about 10 minutes to cross). 

In Strangford I looked for a place to eat called the lobster pot, which was recommended to me by the couple I met earlier, but as they suspected there was no outdoor seating and it seemed a shame to sit in on such a glorious day. So I ended up at the Cuan instead, they were really busy and it took a while to get served (very tasty Cullen skink soup, if not quite as good as that served at the Old Chain Pier back home - but I may be biased!) And it was just before 4 that I was back on the road.

More Game of Thrones on display in the Cuan

I had spent some of the waiting time deciding on my next direction as the coast road had been recommended by both someone on the forum, and Arnie, I had been reluctant to do this previously as it added about 8miles to my day, but it was a lovely day, I had loads of time, and it reduced the climbing by about 500feet. In addition, it looked like the original route was along a main road, and likely to be busy. One of the staff told me it was a good climb out of Strangford on the Downpatrick road, and that clinched it. The Shore road it was. I don't regret it.

The road undulated a fair bit, but not to an unmanageable amount, and there was a down for most of the ups (my mantra climbing on a bike is #worthitforthedownhills, and #worthitfortheview) and for the first few miles I followed the coast, there was a slight refreshing breeze most of the way which was quite welcome, and again I had great views of the sea, this time on my left instead of my right. There are some lovely beaches down this stretch with the tide out the water looked miles away, with quite a few souls out for a swim or a paddle. I had thought about stopping in Ardglass, but ended up going through and stopping at Killough for a short break instead. This is a tiny town and very pretty.

Setting off again it was only 14 miles to Newcastle. Continuing around the coast there were more beaches on the left and rolling farmland on the right. The road surface was good for the most part, although in places the top surface was a little broken. I paused again at Minerstown, and shortly after ran out of water, with the heat of the day I was drinking a bit more than usual, and the 2 bottles filled up at Strangford didn't last me as long as I thought they would. 

Came across this place just after I ran out of water, really wished it was open

I planned to refill at Clough, but there was a couple of hills to go up and I ended up stopping and knocking on the door of a farmhouse to ask for refills! 

The lady who answered couldn't have been more helpful, and topped me up with water sourced and filtered locally by her neighbours and cold from the fridge. Delicious, and just what I needed. I was soon in and out of Clough, and on the home stretch to Newcastle, the road flattened out and descended, and while a good wide road I know that if I had taken it the whole way from Strangford I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much as I did my coastal run.

Arriving at the hostel I was met by Veronica and Steph, both of whom made me feel extremely welcome. I had arrived at the same time as a family from France come to do some hiking, and we got a tour of the hostel together. The Hutt hostel has just been refurbished, and everything is new - my bed was just built today! I soon settled in, it had been a beautiful days cycling and as I got cleaned up I could see I had definitely caught the sun despite several layers of sun cream- on my face and arms anyway! As usual, my legs remain a stubborn white. Ah well maybe one day...

I met the one other person in my room for the night Becca from Seattle in the USA. She climbed the Mournes today, and is taking a week to tour Northern Ireland after spending a month in Galway on a university study abroad programne before going home.

We walked up the street together to find dinner, taking away, we finished the evening watching the last of the sunset over the ocean with a lighthouse flashing in the distance and the sky turning from blue and pale pink and orange to dark blue. Bliss.

Heading back to the hostel I had a slight moment of panic when my key didn't work in the door, but luckily Becca's did and we are now settling down for another good nights sleep!

Oíche mhaith all, tomorrow is another adventure!