12. June 2026

Friday 12th June Day 25

Well we are still here and no shotguns arrived to disturb us and amazingly we are up early which is good as we had planned a bit of a route and by the recent daily distances we have traveled today’s route was a long one, which in reality we didn’t expect to get to and we were thinking of a stop over on the way. The route included 8 stops which would only add time to the route, let’s see how far we got, all 8 stops were set into Syd’s memory and off we went and then Syd shouts after 1 kilometre you have reach your first stop which was the other side of the cove with the sandy beach, now the stop did not take long as just for a change it was raining and we weren’t going for a beach in the rain no matter how nice it looked, Syd take to our next stop. The second stop was 15 minutes away and as we got about 10 down the single track road there was a guy in a van with flashing lights and sign saying road closed, that’s 2 out of 8 completed and we had been driving for 20 minutes, Syd bring on number 3, as we were in a one way in and the same road out, a bit like a long cul-de-sac, we retraced yesterday’s route and the we were supposed to turn off the main ish road on to the single track cul-de-sac the light rain turned to heavy rain, time to have a rethink and the rethink was that as this stop was another headland overlooking the Ocean, which we have seen a couple of times and in pouring down rain there will not be much to see or is it ocean, ok Syd scrap that take us to stop 4 we were getting through these stops quickly and that momentum was about to get even quicker as the next 2 stops included a 30 minute walk each way to 2 more cliffs and headlands and as the precipitation was getting increasingly heavier, that was another 2 off the list, this started to look like we might have a chance of getting to the final destination. Syd scrap the next 2 and take us to stop, Syd shouts will you two make your minds up. Next stop was a town so we expect to take cover from the rain, we arrived at the town and this was a forward thinking town, at the harbour it had special bays for motorvans, it also had waste disposal facility, a water supply, you could stay overnight all for free, you might even spend money in the town and you could visit a couple of the pubs knowing that you had a safe park up and were not going to be told to move on, not that it has happened to us at any stop. Forward thinking and hopefully helping the town’s economy, we weren't staying there but we did walk around and we did contribute to the economy, but not in a pub. The rain stops and as we approach the next stop, the weather even started to brighten up, this stop was down another one way street to a headland but this was different as it described itself as the best cliffs in the country, I am not sure that the Cliffs of Moher would agree but this one had one advantage over Moher as it has a 50 metre tall sea stack and I really fancy a photograph of it. From the car park it is a 5km walk on a round trip, great at last we can go for a walk overlooking the ocean, well that’s what we thought, we climbed over the first tall stile and started to follow the boggy track upwards to the top of the head as we neared the top, Mr weather decided he was going to be a proper misery guts and throw it down, this is becoming a bit tedious and there wasn’t any chance of it stopping and back to Glo it was before we were soaked. Now I am not sure if I have missed or added any stops as I have lost count, anyway amazingly we were then on our way to the last stop that we didn’t expect to be happening, we arrived at the stop which is Downpatrick head which unsurprisingly looks out over the Atlantic Ocean, wow what a view it’s breath taking and so is the wind as strangely enough it’s blowing a hoolie with gusts that try to blow you off your feet, initially we park Glo at the edge of the cliffs but the wind has got Glo rocking and it probably isn’t the best place to park for the night. A number of motorvans arrived but then chickened out and headed off for a calmer location but not us we just moved to the back of the car park where it was slightly less breezy, this is another reminder of the night we spent at Nordkapp in Norway but compared to that night, this is just a bit of a breeze. In the end we were joined by just 2 vans. The view is one of those wow moments and we felt very fortunate to be able to be going to bed listening to the white capped waves crash onto the rocks below us and go to bed knowing that this is the view we will wake up to. As for route planning there wasn’t any, I am staying here, if the weather calms down there is a chance of seeing Whales and Dolphins in the bay, if it doesn’t calm down I am waiting until it does, that’s about your lot as I am going to watch the mesmerising and somehow calming waves of the Wild Atlantic Ocean crashing down with its tremendous power. I wouldn’t like to be in it but I could watch it for hours, bring on the Whales tomorrow, happy bunny tonight, it’s beautiful. 

Stop over Downpatrick Head at the top

WTW scholar.clangs.trailers