It stormed all night and we awoke to dark clouds. Today we are supposed to walk about 8 miles along the coast—the same coast that froze us out yesterday. Neither of us are excited about being wet all day and we know there are things to do in Downpatrick, SO we decide to take the bus to Downpatrick and then return by bus to our night’s accommodation.
3.37 miles, rain heavy at times, elevation gain 724 feet, 62 degrees, 91% humidity.,
Click to get Richard’s ReLive video for the day: https://www.relive.com/view/vrqojKM4Vy6
Maria fed us breakfast and then we checked out with our luggage scheduled to be transported to Dundrum where we would join it for the night.
The bus station is closed on the weekend, but we purchased tickets from the kiosk outside and sat in shelter by the back bus bays. Laura had come from England just to hike the Mourne, and she was wound up and funny and entertained us while we waited. She was part of a group of 30 who experienced weather somewhat like ours on the west coast of Ireland, and, like me, she thought she was going to die. She said the wind was horrific, she had no poles, and the guide said the only thing they could do was to keep going. Sound familiar?
The bus finally arrived and we followed everyone on, only to find out that our bus departed from the front of the station and we had missed it while chatting with Laura. No problem. It was well worth our time laughing with Laura and we could catch the next bus in a couple of hours. Off to get a snack and more coffee!
We’re a day earlier than our expected finish date, but we decided to go ahead and stamp and pick up our completion certificate.
The St. Patrick center gives an interactive history of Patrick’s life, and an introduction to several sites in the Downpatrick area.
Lucy was our enthusiastic tour guide. She completed our certificates, answered questions, and took our pictures.
While we were getting our certificates, Klaus showed up with his final stamp as well. We met Klaus on our first night of our hike in Armagh, but hadn’t crossed paths again since Newry. We went through the program together to learn about St. Patrick’s life and ministry.
St. Patrick was born in the west coast of Roman Britain in the early fifth century and was captured and brought to Ireland as a slave at age 16. He tended sheep for 6 years and then escaped and travelled to England and France where he studied to become a cleric. In AD 432 he returned to Ireland as a missionary where he established Ireland’s first Christian church in the barn of a local chieftain at Saul near Downpatrick. During his mission, Patrick converted thousands of pagans and baptized royal chieftains.
Klaus continued on for his nightly activities and we headed to the grocery store to get some dinner. Our B&B is outside town and we want to minimize tonight’s walking.
Sacred Heart Church is a Catholic Church in Dundrum, first built in 1813. It has been renovated and expanded and now serves Dundrum and surrounding areas.
There is also an ancient castle ruin atop a rocky hill that was built in the 13th century.
Tomorrow’s walk will start at this low land known as a bird sanctuary. We have to walk north to clear the swampy land, then walk south along the other side. Seems a little crazy but it keeps us off the major roads.
6 Responses
Glad you finally found some good weather! That helped!
Good weather always makes for a sunny disposition.
You seem to be more flexible this trip. Is this the most extreme weather you’ve encountered in your travels? Your hosts seem to be extremely helpful. Anxious to hear how your ferry trip to Liverpool went. Hope it wasn’t as rocky a journey especially because you did it overnight. Really have enjoyed the Irish part of your trip. Beautiful scenery and generous, friendly people. Dan
Ireland — both the Republic and also Northern Ireland — were wonderful and it seems sad to leave. There is so much we did not get to see, so I hope for a future visit. How can anyone top the helpful people we met, and the pilgrims who kept us laughing and rehashing our experiences together!
When I first saw the picture of the stepping stones across the river, I felt myself growing faint. I could not tell for sure if you could step or had to hop. Anyway, wet stones can be kind of scary. It sounds as though the next day you decided to avoid all the wetness. You seem to be walking at a fairly good clip. How can you cover all the distance and still sight-see?
The stepping stones were daunting for me, but it was mostly psychological because the water was rushing by. After watching the children scampering across and hopping between stones, no one slipped or fell in so I knew it was possible. Richard helped me cross. Some days we wish there was more time for sightseeing, but that was one of the reasons we skipped the rainy and cold day along the shore — we had more time to see Downpatrick. It was a good decision.