finally got around to doing a wee write up-
The one thing keeping me going was the ability to keep talking and the more I talked the more I walked. It helped blank out the miles & the constant impact on my feet. I went from moments of no pain to nearly giving up several occasions.
IMG_2341 by
paul surginor, on Flickr
We set off from Lisnashea some eight hours before & had now covered over twenty odd miles. The first few miles from Lisnashea were along country roads towards the small village of Donagh, where we stopped to stock up with provisions at the only shop in the area. The weather was sunshine & showers, one minute it was coats on, the next coats off, but we're well used to that in this country. With a bit of forward planning we were able to ‘rekey’ our journey using Google Street & discovered most of the trek was along country roads & forest tracks. With this in mind we decided to wear trainers, as this would be easier on the feet. Just after leaving Donagh we got caught out in a few heavy showers & I remember thinking to myself this is going to be miserable in the rain. It's strange how the weather affects you're mood and sunshine must be food for the soul as not long after that we were graced with its arrival. As we neared our first woodland trail at Tully forest we pasted a large country house which was in the style of gothic revival & quite impressive.
IMG_2350 by
paul surginor, on Flickr
It was with some dismay we witnessed lots of dumping in the first fire trek entering Tully forest and with what was such a nice trail you'd think the local would be proud of it, but there no talking to some folk. The terrain was a bit like Donegal in ways due to the large open bog land separated with hills & woodland. Throughout the landscape shadows of the past could be seen with turf cutting scars on the health land. We stopped for five to ten minutes every few miles, just enough time to kick off trainers & apply plasters & cream. It's strange because I can walk in the mountains all day without damaging my feet but walking on roads & hard treks just grinds on you're feet no matter what footwear you're wearing. Thinking about this a bit more I reckon it must have something to do with not really adjusting you're footing as you would do whilst trekking in the hills and this in turn has a pounding affect on the same group of muscles?
IMG_2442 by
paul surginor, on Flickr
Nearing about mile 16 I hit a real pain barrier & I asked the lads to take a break, while resting on the edge of the forest trail, Ed shouted over to me to try some ‘Dex’, which is basically a sugar fix. I put my hand over to catch the packet but missed & ended up getting smacked right on the right nipple with the sweets, to the joy off the rest of the lads. It was funny stuff like that happening that made you laugh & kept you going along the way.
As I mentioned already I've always had the ability to talk the leg of the stool so Oisin and myself chatted away the evening while walking towards the sunset. At dusk we came to a crossroads & noticed lots of cars parking beside a house, it must be the auld tinker blood in me, but I can smell a " wake" miles away. We stopped to turn off the music as I had,' highway to hell’ blasting out of the iPad, lol. Again we plodded on forgetting about how sore our legs were from time to time. We had a good idea now we were quite close to our campsite & the thought of no more walking for a few hours was enough to motivate us onwards. Having now reached the campsite two of the lads traveled back the 31 miles to collect the first car.
IMG_2426 by
paul surginor, on Flickr
Our plan of action was set to get the tents up and have a feed, although it never happened, as we were totally exhausted and were barley able to set the tents up. Falling into the tent I nearly shed a tear as I wrapped the sleeping bag around me. It was agreed with the lads that we would have a great meat feast when we woke the following morning.
IMG_2415 by
paul surginor, on Flickr
I never slept as well as I did that night in my life. Apparently someone was snoring all night, but I never heard a thing, lol, When I woke I looked out of my tent & noticed spud was up, ten minutes later we had burgers on the BBQ, shortly followed by chicken wings, ribs, tea and coffee not forgetting the porridge. Strangely enough all the lads including myself were feeling grand- the weather was sunny & warm, our bellies were full, and we were ready to carry on.
With around 14 miles to cove on our second day we were a bit more relaxed about the ground we needed to cover. Leaving Sliabh Beagh we descended back into farmland & country roads. As we walked it seemed like there were lakes & woods around every corner. Along the route we decided we wanted to visit St Patrick’s well and chair, an historic site dating back to BC, apparently used by pagans and later as a Christian place of worship, a real enchanting and atmospheric place. The last stage of our walk was through The Royal forest, which lies just over the Fermanagh border. With the end in sight we mustered whatever strength we had left for the last few miles. With Auchnocloy in sight we climbed our last hill into the town. To anybody watching us we just looked like six guys walking down Main Street, but to us we felt that we done something worth doing.
IMG_2445 by
paul surginor, on Flickr
IMG_2390 by
paul surginor, on Flickr
IMG_0959 by
paul surginor, on Flickr
& some footage from our trip-
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Topic: Sliabh Beagh Way (Read 13562 times)