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Before light I was woken by biting
midges. By 04:30am they were getting more intense and annoying. I
had to make an early start as there was no escape from them. I made
a cup of coffee and ate my breakfast as quickly as possible then
packed my tent away in a dense cloud of the insects. I wheeled my
bike across the bridge girders and was grateful to reach the road
where I could set off and leave the midges behind. |
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The weather was overcast with no wind
making it ideal for midges. For several miles I had an easy descent
towards Donegal town. Even when the road levelled off it was easy
riding. I rode in to the centre of the town which was deserted. The
only person was a man sweeping the pavements and he was the only
person I’d seen all day. I left to the west along the main N56. The
road was wide and well surfaced and thankfully hardly any traffic.
It was undulating with some long sections of uphill, but the
gradients weren’t too steep. I was heading for Killybegs, which is a
harbour and fishing town about 3km off my route. |
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The main reason for the diversion is
to visit relatives of a friend. As I approached their house I paused
by a large new roundabout. Just as I was about to set of Steph came
by in her car and stopped to say hello. She set off down the narrow
lane while I followed. At their house John was waiting outside. It
was still early, around 9am, and although I’d set about an hour
aside for the visit we finished up chatting for 2 hours before I had
to pull myself away to continue my journey. I showed John my planned
route on the map and he was able to give me some tips. I left and
took a different route back to the harbour which is one of the
busiest fishing harbours in the area. There were many trawlers
there. I retraced my route out of the town and headed north on the
N56 towards Ardara. |
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It was an enjoyable road to ride on
with an easy steady climb to get me over the high point a short way
before the steep descent into Ardara. Through the town and over the
bridge I had a steep short climb to the road junction on the other
side. At the top I had to make a decision. My initial plan was to
ride to Maas by a minor road but John said there were lots of hills.
I decided to take the less hilly route staying on the N56 to
Glenties. It was a good road and easy ride of 10km. In the town I
made another alteration to my route. Instead of continuing to Maas I
turned right on to the R250 towards Loch Finne. |
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A rock
solid Irish caravan. |
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Riding up to Glendowan Pass |
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I had no idea what the terrain would
be like and even though the road wasn’t as good as the N56 it was
still much better than the equivalent in England. With a few
undulations it was generally an uphill climb. The views opened up
but the weather continued overcast. I reached the lake and followed
the road which climbed above the lake level. My map showed a rail
track by the lake but I hadn’t been able to see it. As I approached
the next road junction I looked down to the lake and saw a train
with one carriage heading west. The driver saw me and gave a wave,
which I returned. A steep climb took me to the road junction where I
turned left to join the R252. It was steep at first then easier
undulations over the summit till a steep descent to the village and
river. |
I stopped by the village shop
and bought an ice-cream on stick. Through the village I joined the
minor R254 which was quite rough at first. I was riding through
dense trees both sides and the occasional dilapidated caravans set
back from the road. Eventually I gained altitude and left the trees
behind. The sun began to show through and I had wonderful views of
the surrounding mountains.
I passed the occasional ruins of stone cottages which John said were
abandoned during the potato famine in the 1840s. |
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I was heading for the Glendowan Pass
and planned to camp this side of the summit. Passing another lake on
my right and a few buildings I could see the road climbing steadily
in the distance. Higher up I could see a river passing under the
road and decided to aim for that. When I arrived there was only one
place I could pitch my tent. It wasn’t ideal as it was in full view
of the road. The views down the valley were impressive so I decided
to stop for the night. The road was very quiet so I reckoned I
should be OK. |
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Whittle Wanderer
