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Up at 06:14 after a gloriously comfortable night’s sleep in a meadow under Oulart hill. The day is mild and overcast. The dawn chorus was more diverse than any I’ve ever heard.
06:46 Bag and bivvy packed away, making porridge now. Experimenting with black bread in the porridge!
07:21 That was quite successful -certainly very filling! About to wash up and pack away the basha and mat, and I’m good to go. I think I need to get beyond Wexford today to have any chance of catching the ferry on Saturday. But hang on, today is Thursday. The ferry leaves on Saturday 18 March - 1 1/2 days away.
08:20 Back on the road. I’m going to call at the house to say thank you!
08:37 Met and chatted to Eddie’s son1. Saved a trip to the house!
09:16:43
09:16:59
09:31 Blue peeking out between the overcast. The road is almost dry. My feet are very, very sore.
10:02:57
10:30 Ballaghkeen. The hardware shop has no glue. Stopping in Bob’s Bar and Restaurant for some restoration.
| Distances | |
|---|---|
| day 1: | 30.37 |
| day 2: | 32.06 |
| day 3: | 31.22 |
| day 4: | 28.42 |
| 1/2 5: | 8.85 |
=151.27
Mobile phone still has 45% charge, after almost 4 1/2 days! Charging up now off the battery pack. Ordered an egg salad roll for lunch.
10:47:10
11:37 On the road after a brilliant chat with Bob. Send him a postcard. Bob only charged me €5.00 for a lemon meringue pie slice, egg mayo sandwich to takeaway, a pot of tea and a water refill. What a gent. Prickly wrist.
11:51:57
12:48 Pause to unplug phone from battery pack. Going well. Surprised at the time.
13:27 Rain shower had passed. Switch maps in the rain shade of some trees.
13:41 Lunch stop. Fucking amazing egg mayonnaise salad sandwich with extra greens and mayonnaise.
14:22:26
14:26 Sun’s out again. Stop to shed layers. Chocky break.
14:58:24
14:58:40
15:10 Castlebridge. Busier and uglier than I remember.
15:33 Earplugs in. Wind picking up, temperature dropping.
15:59 4km from Wexford. Feet hurt. Tried to find a hostel in Wexford but there’s no network.
16:38 Stopped before the bridge into Wexford to see if my GPS has any hostels listed. It doesn’t. Trying the web again.
16:56:02
17:02:46
17:30:00
17:36 Aisling books me in to Abbey House B&B for €40 for a single. I hope that includes breakfast.
A luxuriant shower, clothes washing, kit cleaning and drying, hours of texting, Telegramming and Twitter, a phone call with Aisling (45 minutes) then dress for dinner and limp slowly and painfully to Spice Indian restaurant a few hundred metres away for a phenomenal feed of mixed salad, rice, chips2 dhal fry and riata, all for €16.95. Total bargain.
17:37:03: This is the spot where I’d slept on my last night during the shake-out walk. It the time, the vegetation was dense, allowing me to slip in unobtrusively. I don’t think I was spotted, but maybe somebody mentioned something to the authorities about vagrants in sleeping bags in the shrubbery.
