A Gusty Walk!
We were up in good time this morning because the ladies were all having their finger nails prepared for the big day. After dropping part of the herd off, I drove on to find Pete (from Victoria) and we decided to walk the coastal trail in spite of the constant waves of rain running down the channel from the North Atlantic.
Buncrana is located in a beautiful setting at the foot of a long narrow inlet. It’s not a big town, but certainly large enough to have multiple churches and pubs. Not a surprise in Ireland😉
Ever since we arrived the winds have been howling and the rain has been blowing through bringing soaking waves of water. Localized rainstorms that just drenched everything. Have you ever wondered why Ireland is so emerald green? The rain cells depart almost as fast as they arrive. The trick is to take your wet gear, walk between storm cells and then find a little cover each time a micro storm blows through (if you are able). It’s a real skill!😎
The trail led us to an old bridge, and I must say everything was extremely scenic. Particularly when the rain stopped, and the sun came out.
The bridge leads directly into the grounds where Buncrana castle is located. A local with two nice dogs stopped for a chat and told us that the owner of the castle’s nickname was Divine, because generations ago the Lord of the castle would stop it every single church along the way to pray. I guess nicknames around here are generational.🤔
The castle is not a real castle in the true sense of the name. It’s more of a large house, and I was able to take a photo from the side back of it
We could see the next rain cell coming down the channel in a hurry. It’s not always easy to see where these will land, so we sought the first shelter we could find. I had my Gore-Tex on, but Pete just had a light rain jacket and would’ve been soaked had we been caught in the open.
Fortunately, for us, there was the local sea rescue station just up to our right, and beyond that there was a building with a covered veranda. We ran for the latter and made it just in time!
We continue on up the trail until the next storm cell came rolling in.
This time when the cell hit us, we were on our way back, and fortunately we were right beside the local fish anglers association building . So we ducked in there and waited out the storm.
From there we walked back along the foreshore and into town. Several storm cells passed close by, but we lucked out and stayed in the sun all the way into the centre of town.
That’s it for today. In between everything else there has been babysitting grandchildren, and driving people around to complete various tasks. a productive and busy day as we get closer to Friday.
Stay tuned!
Geoff
Distance Walker - Wandering & Wondering! 