Achill, Belmullet and on to Sligo

We picked up the Mayo Greenway back east towards Newport via Mulranny and then on to Westport where we had a good lunch of mussels and sea food chowder down at the quay before returning via Burrishoole Abbey with its tranquil sea shore setting. We pulled up at the excellent Hy Breasal BnB run by the friendly Marie who encourages campers to stay on her large, level gravel parking area with hook up, water and waste facilities and good recycling easily to hand. A bargain at 15 euros per night encouraged us to stay 3 nights and use it as a base to explore Achill Island so we tucked away with  three other vans on the far side.

 

Tuesday saw us ride out towards Keen Bay on a fine but blustery morning and then climb the long hill to drop rapidly in to Keem Bay a stunning spot now more famously associated with the filem the Banshee of Inisherrin but also known for a snorkelling zone and the occasional basking shark. . Coffee and a muffin prepared us for the steep climb back out of the bay after which we turned north to explore the remarkable deserted village of Slievemore with the ruins of around 100 cottages spread out over a mile or so of mountain side. Returning along the north side of the island gave us a total ride of almost 40 miles so we were glad to settle in to the van for the evening.

We picked up the Greenway having crossed the bridge back to the mainland, passed through Mulranny and turned back at the point we had reached two days previously to stop at the restored station building for a coffee break. The old brick water tower with its simple level indicator is missed by most people but worthy of closer inspection and we had found a bronze statue of a family group waving at trains as in days of old quite moving. Down at the beach the Glamping Site looked a bit sad with two forlorn bell tents and no obvious facilities after which we completed a circuit of the south side of Achill. Following a short rest at Hy Breasal we decided we had just about enough time and energy to do the final headland down to Cloghmore passing O'Malley's castle and some more location points for the Banshees film along a surprisingly wild and rugged road with far reaching views back across to Clare Island and north to Keem Bay.

 

Leaving Achill we stopped at the hardware store for 2 Campingas 907s at the exhorbitant price of 60 euros each and I noticed that Calor still do their smaller cylinders over here having withdrawn them from the UK claiming they were not cost effective - the relative geographic isolation of western Ireland rather draws the rug from under that argument and makes me wonder if both Calor and Campingaz are ripping off the camping and boating fraternity.

Anyway in the overall picture the ready availability of superb free wild camping locations often with water available offsets the gas costs and with my multi country journeys CG is the only practical option. To this end we drove out to the Belmullet Peninsular and stopped at the Black Sod lighthouse and pier where two fishermen were lifting crates of stored live lobsters from alongside the pier ready for market. Up at the northern end of Belmullet we parked up to enjoy the Erris Head Loop Walk with its views across to some islands and another of the WW2 identification signs to deter the Luftwaffe. A gravel track across peat bogs at Carrowteige led us to a remarkable place to spend the night as heavy rain hammered down. This had cleared the following morning giving us the chance to admire the dramatic coastline as we walked Benwee Head. Round at Portacloy we took lunch down to the beach looking out over a scallop shaped bay and were intrigued to find a few sections of spine, ribs and cartilage later identified as a basking shark - as these can reach 11m long we reckon it was an adult of some age that had died of natural causes. The interpretation centre for Ceide Fields was a striking but subtle pyramid shaped building on the coast and provided detailed information on the discovery of a long abandoned network of stone walls that had been put up when the first farmers arrived from western Europe and began to settle when the climate was warmer. Artefacts including a polished axe head from Italy and wheat seed originating in Iran proved that over many thousands of years these different cultures had moved in and established a new way of living. It is thought that a change to the climate slowly made them move on once more and the bog began to encroach and then swallow the evidence of ancient field systems. Suitably impressed and informed we moved on towards Ballina passing through Ballycastle where we watched a charity convoy of perhaps 100 roaring supercars with a police escort pass through, stopping briefly to throw sweets out to the watching children. I then realised we should have been looking out for an overnight in Ballycastle so we returned but decided the rear yard of the pub was not as nice as perhaps envisaged so instead drove out to Downpatrick Head for another quiet night overlooking the sea and back towards Benwee. A walk on to Downpatrick itself gave us the chance to admire the huge blowhole and sea cave that will one day collapse and isolate the headland as happened to the outcrop of Dun Briste created following a storm in the 14th century and necessitating the rescue of a family that actually lived out there. The cliffs were thronged with nesting birds seemingly oblivious to the waves crashing far below and another Eire sign (this one number 64) sat near an old look out post used by some pathetic individuals as a rubbish dump and toilet.

 

Moving on to Ballina we stopped to look round the beautiful and easily overlooked Rosserk Friary with  some fascinating points of interest. At the side of the altar the remains of two piscinas used to wash the ceremonial bowls could be seen and to one side a stone mason had carved a small replica of a stone round tower he must have spotted elsewhere. After lunch out in Ballina we took the quiet coast road and near Easky we found a good coastal park up with a few other vans staying and family groups enjoying the sun despite still cool northerly winds. We walked along the shoreline and discovered a layer of the limestone cliffs that contained hundreds of examples of fossilised corals. It was a quiet night and on Sunday morning a few hardy locals turned out for an early morning dip in the sheltered bay gaining my deep admiration.

 

Carrowmore megalithic burial ground was a remarkable collection of mounds and tombs all clustered in one area and largely surrounding one substantial stone chamber and we enjoyed wandering at will around those situated on public land. Numerous others lie in the adjacent farmland and high up on Knocknarea to the north lies a huge stone cairn thought to be associated with this location. We parked at Sligo Cathedral and walked down to Dock 84 for a very good lunch then on to the town centre itself and the impressive remains of the Abbey another state owned site with a reasonable 4 euro admission fee as we both now count as Seniors. The cloisters were, like Rosserk, my favourite feature and reminded me of the cool and peaceful central courtyards of homes in Morocco. Sligo Cathedral was also cool and peaceful and we left deciding on a whim to drive the circuit of Lough Gill, closely associated with the great Irish poet WB Yeates. On the north shore we just had time for a look round the impressive Parkes Castle right on the shoreline before checking out a P4N spot at Dromahair. This lay across the river and was accessed by a very narrow bridge that led to the sports field for the village. We decided it would do very nicely so parked up as a few friendly locals walked dogs or used the small playground. In the village we found a path across to Creevelea Friary before returning to the Stanford Village inn which had a remarkable interior full of memorabilia from all aspects of pub life. Walking back to the van we concluded that the former Abbey Hotel had been repurposed as an asylum seekers hostel as there were families of a variety of nationalities sitting in the grounds and a few venturing out in to the village. We reflected on the challenges that lay ahead for them all and the likelihood that their journeys to this quiet corner would no doubt have been long and harrowing. 

 

After a quiet night on the sports field the groundsman was happy to let us fill up the next morning and we returned to Sligo for a food shop, stopping en route to enjoy a 3 mile walk along the forested shores and being surprised that a large holiday or residential development had been allowed to intrude on the wooded hills of the far side of the lough. West of Sligo the beach at Rosses Point made for a brisk walk on a blustery day before we continued round to the quieter Raghly peninsula to the north and parked on the shore where the road ran out at Ardmeen above a rocky bay. The sun emerged so we offloaded the bikes and spent a couple of hours exploring a good network of lanes up towards Grange and the long sandy spit at Streedagh. After 20 odd miles we returned to the van and slept soundly after changing a gas cylinder over and reloading the bikes and cover. 

 

Today we enjoyed time in Donegal starting with small and rather underwhelming craft village and then in the town itself calling at the modest railway heritage centre staffed by an enthusiastic couple. The rapid expansion and subsequent contraction of Europe's largest narrow gauge rail network was well documented and there were some old carriages, a goods wagon and a locomotive. Interestingly given Ireland's lack of coal the system was an early adopter of the diesel engine and the network reached in to most parts of the nation. The water bus tour of the harbour wasn't running until Thursday so we decided on lunch in The Old Castle Hotel instead and enjoyed superb fish cakes and a wonderful seafood pie washed down with Guinness and Prosecco before crossing the street and visiting Donegal Castle which has been heavily restored to a very high standard. A huge carved fireplace dominated the grand dining room and outside lay the ruins of a manor house built in the grounds.

Our P4N app had crashed as we headed out to the important fishing port of Killybegs so we decided to stop for a look round the harbour with numerous huge trawlers moored up to give it time to recover. As this seemed to be taking a while I used the IOverlander App, last used in the Western Sahara to give us an overnight stop but as we headed west I spotted a sign down to a field behind Fintra beach reached by passing a closed restaurant and a small housing estate. Bizarrely the large flat field seemed to offer free camping, although with no facilities, and only one other van in situ. We checked with them and were told it was fine to stay so took a place behind the dunes and walked out to the huge beach revealed by the low tide. A few other vans were in the beach car park proper including a couple with roof tents but we preferred our quiet set up tucked away for the evening.

So the further delights of Donegal await us over the next fortnight and will be covered in due course, meanwhile the extra pics sit HERE