Part way through the
night I was woken by wind and rain battering the tent. By morning it
was still battering the tent and the view outside was almost zero. I
packed up camp wearing full waterproofs and wheeled by bike down to
the road. The rough track was now running with water. I set off on
the long freewheel down to the north east. There were cascades of
water coming down from the cliffs above to my right and looking to
my left was just mist and nothing else. It was like flying through
clouds. After about 5 miles I was almost at sea level. The rain
eventually stopped and I parked the bike to take off my sodden
waterproofs. I continued to Castlegregory where I noticed an old
rail water tower by the road.
I stopped to
investigate and was pleased to see it had been preserved as the last
remains of the
Tralee to Dingle narrow gauge railway line closed in in 1953. I
continued for a few miles then stopped to phone Margaret, the sister
of John
Naughton. I said I’d call to say hello this afternoon.
On the old Tralee to Dingle Railway
The riding was easy
and I soon arrived in Blenneville on the outskirts of Tralee. I
pulled in at the garage to see if water was available. I was
surprised to see the water tap was padlocked shut! I reached the
bridge at the ship canal and turned left along the path. At the end
was a car park and grassy area where I planned to stay the night.
There was a road that I followed into Tralee and on to the Railway
Station.
In 1966 the station
was given the name Casement in commemoration of Roger Casement, one
of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916. Casement
was hanged at Pentonville Prison in London on 3 August 1916 and his
body buried within the prison grounds. Eventually his remains were
repatriated to the Republic of Ireland in 1965 and he is now buried
in Dublin.
I’d pre-booked a
ticket on the Wed 09:05 train back to Dublin. I had to call at the
station to print my ticket out. The lady at the booking office was
very helpful and I explained that I originally wanted to catch the
07:00 but the website said it was unavailable for bikes. She said
there was a bike space available. I said I’d return in the morning
and hopefully catch the 07:00am. I cycled to the nearby Aldi store
and bought a sandwich and some supplies. While eating the sandwich I
sat on the nearby pavement and dried some of my wet waterproofs in
the sunshine.
A wet
and windswept camp at Tralee Bay
I knew Margaret lived
near the racecourse so cycled there and phoned her. She lived nearby
so I called for a cup of tea & chat about stuff. I briefly met her
husband who was just on his way back to work. After about an hour I
left and set off back through the town to the grassy area by the
canal to camp. It was raining when I got there and quite windy but
managed to get the tent up without getting wet. I had my tea and
enjoying the solitude.
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Whittle Wanderer
