It's 7.30am, I can hear the rain bouncing off my bedroom windows like there's a child throwing stones at the glass, here we go again I think, but hold on, I'm not in Ireland, I'm still back home, I head off to the airport in a couple of hours !
I arrive at Birmingham International, half soaked having dropped the hire car off in torrential rain, but that's it now, no more outside, just an hour to wait till the flight then back to Ireland. As our flight starts to board I realise there is no airbridge to our plane, which I can see some way off the far side of the tarmac....yes, it was a long very wet walk to the plane, so I spent the hour on my FlyBe twin Prop soaked to the skin. I'm please to say as soon as we entered Irish Air Space the weather improved by a million percent, within 20 minutes of landing I was getting changed into my shorts in the airport car park, taking the roof off the car, popping the sunnies on, and heading back to the Wild Atlantic Way.
Old Head beach was the first port of call, great to actually see people using the beaches, they have been so empty up to date, but you can see the weather in Ireland is wonderful (for a change)
Next stop was Roonagh Pier, you can catch the ferry to Clare Island from here. Whilst I was there the ferry came in, but (after the Tory Island incident) you won't be shocked to hear I didn't go zooming off to jump onto the ferry, I will be conducting some serious due diligence on what facilities are open before I leave Irish Mainland again...
Next is Carrownisky Strand, plenty of surfing going on.
I turn off the main road, as directed by the WAW sign, down a road that gets narrower, soon there is grass growing in the middle of the road, this goes on for miles, I begin to think I am going the wrong way, there is nothing down here, I will give it a few more minutes then turn back, I must have missed a turn, then I come into a clearing, and there it is in front of me Silver Strand. William Makepiece is to have said this place was the most spectacular spot his eye's have ever feasted on ! It's a real WOW factor, a few more pictures will follow, but please check out the video I will put on twitter https://twitter.com/jimiwoz?lang=en it give a bit more sense of perspective. I have to say being stood on this beach, in the middle of know where totally alone, there weren't even any seagulls, was quite something.....
I spent ages on that beach, just mesmerising, time to head to my accommodation for this evening, from the map, I'd guessed it would be about 30 minute drive. I popped my destination into Google Maps, it told me 1 hour 52 minutes ! no way I thought, just over 2 hours later I got to the diggs....I did stop for a few minutes at Doo Lough Valley on the way
Looking back from the other end
Then finally Aasleagh Waterfall
I will leve you with a picture I took the morning after day 19, as I has briefly headed back to the UK, as I approached my car in the car park I spotted this 1964 Bedford Tipper parked just behind me.....I'm sure to 99% of you this will have no relevance, but I know for one, Popa Woz will be pleased I took a photo of it for him !
