I set off from Laois just before 11:00 on a journey of around 3 hours 30 minutes. I’d planned to get the 15:30 ferry from the pontoon in Castletown-Berehaven so had around an hour in reserve just in case. The first half of the journey was on the M8 motorway to Cork so nothing of any interest, except the toll just before the city at a cost of €1.90 - no change given so the actual cost was €2:00. After passing by Cork, the roads changed to a mix of fast single carriageway primary roads, to local country roads. Throughout this part of the journey we’re some great views, especially along the Wild Atlantic Way. A few stops along the way eroded my reserve time but I still arrived at the pontoon in good time, around 14:50. The ferry was still on its way across when I’d parked up. I saw another car in a queue (of one) position facing towards the ramp so I checked to see how things worked. The friendly lady asked if I was John and it turned out she was the owner of Martello View. We chatted for a few moments and it was then she said I should bring the car out and position it to reverse onto the boat. I can’t say I was looking forward to that, although she did say the skipper would do it for me if I wanted. It wasn’t as bad as I thought and so I was on the boat and ready to head across the water. The skipper came to collect the €25.00 return fare and told me the times for my return tomorrow. No tickets or receipts on this boat. All done from memory. The B&B owner had brought her car over ready to pick up the next morning to do what she needed to get on with and she was returning today by foot. I offered her a lift which she accepted - she had planned to walk back, around one mile as it turned out but with some very steep hills. The ferry holds only four cars so I’m guessing going as a foot passenger guarantees she gets the crossing she wants. There were three cars on my crossing including mine. The crossing itself was smooth and gives some great views. I was lucky to see sunlight showing off the surroundings as well as have rain clouds behind creating an equally impressive view. The crossing took around 25 minutes and as we approached the ramp, all didn’t look as clean as the landing at my departure point. The ferry parked up at a 45 degree angle, which was fine for disembarking, but leaving me thinking about reversing back onto the boat on my return journey. When off the boat, the B&B owner insisted I don’t drive too fast. The roads were narrow and winding, mostly enough room for only one car. She warned me that going to fast could not only result in meeting an oncoming car on a blind bend, but also that there was no guarantee the other driver would be insured. So, it was a mainly second gear crawl to the B&B which, when we turned off the “main” road, became proper single track country lanes with grass growing in the middle of the road. We arrived in strong wind and rain. She kindly got the doors open for me while I waited in the car. When open, I headed in to be shown to my room - a very comfortable bed and a spacious room. She was a very welcoming lady, showing me where things such as milk and tea/coffee were and to help myself if I wanted one at any time. Soon after, I went out to find somewhere to eat and headed towards the opposite end of the island. The winding roads I’d seen on the short journey from the ferry now included some steep inclines. There was still daylight which helped but it was beginning to fade. There was nowhere open when I reached the furthest point, so I headed back and stopped halfway at the Bere Island Hotel bar. The food was tasty and not expensive- duck spring rolls, followed by a cheeseburger with chips, plus two cokes, all for €18.50. The short drive back was a bit more hairy than the drive out because it was now dark. I usually prefer country lanes in the dark because the reflection of headlights of roadside trees and hedges helps with visibility. However, tonight there was none of that and so when it came to to steep inclines, I had no idea if there was a bend on the other side or not and so it was literally a crawl over the top and only then did I know if it was straight ahead or a deviation left or right. I made it safely back in the end and enjoyed the shelter from the high winds and cold temperature. So to the parkrun itself. A quick check on the event Facebook page the night before had me briefly worried when a post was put up asking for a timekeeper. No timekeeper and the run could happen but there would be no published times! Surely not. Anyway, as is often the case, volunteers appear from nowhere and come Saturday morning, the roster was fully covered. A sunny but cold morning was the scene. After parking my car in the village, I made the short walk to the start at Rerrin GAA pitch. The route was a tour of the local roads (lanes) but with some stunning views looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. Ireland certainly came up trumps for my visit with the clouds and rain visiting somewhere else. We set off and were soon on the way up. It wasn't long until the Atlantic view presented itself, set off magnificently by the winter morning sunshine. I had no choice but to stop for a couple of snaps! All around the course and there was nothing to disappoint, from the old world cottages, the Atlantic view, the battery near the turn point followed by the Rerrin military barracks, and finally the view across the water back to the mainland as you wind downhill before turning back towards the finish at the GAA club. I'll leave the photos to hopefully tell the story. The results can be found here. The route can be seen on this YouTube video, courtesy of Glen Harrington. So for the trip back to the mainland. I noticed on arriving that the ferry parked up at a 45 degree angle which meant one thing for the return - I would have to reverse down the ramp before turning 45 degrees onto the ferry. Hmmm. Not something I was looking forward to. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There was the safety net of the ferry's captain being able to do the job for me but I'm glad I didn't have to resort to that. The sun was still shining on the crossing back, with the odd cloud getting in the way so all in all, a very pleasant trip to a very pretty part of Ireland. Well worth a visit if you happen to be anywhere near the south west of Ireland. Just be remember there are no petrol stations or ATMs on the island! A few photos below from around the island, well, mostly at either end of it. Apart from the pub, there isn't much in the middle apart from the countryside, which isn't bad in itself.
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ABOUT MEHaving completed 5 marathons between 1999 and 2016, I decided this year, I would try to do it properly and plan my training! Alongside, I wanted to keep a blog as it went along, partly to look back on, and partly to help anyone else who may benefit from my own experiences. Archives
November 2023
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