The end is in sight!

That’s Bantry you can see below. We even managed to identify Barry’s B&B.

This morning Carmel the taxi turned up bang on time. She drove us up to Barnagheely, today’s departure point which was also yesterday’s because we did that stage backwards for logistical reasons. She then took our luggage down to Barry’s.

Today’s stage was a bit of an anti-climax after yesterday’s epic. It seemed like the planners got bored: “We need to finish the loop, here’s a minor road, let’s use it.” Virtually all of it was on tarmac, with actual vehicle traffic to look out for (not much, but still…). Upside: no fecking stiles, zero, and no cattle to contend with. We basically crossed the spine of the peninsula, and this is the view from the highest point, where we stopped for lunch on a grassy knoll. Followed by a prolonged siesta. Then it was an easy walk down into Bantry, shorter than we expected — we were there by three.

Stats: 9.5 km, 150 m climbing, 350 descent, 4 hours and 45 minutes.

Unfortunately the tick bite incident has really knocked S for six, and he’s nowhere near his normal fitness level — he’s been exhausted every evening (as have I, but that is normal).. So when we arrived he flopped down for a 3-hour siesta. He wasn’t looking great when he got up, so dinner was the easy option, at the Bantry Bay two minutes away, where we ate last time we were here. It was very good again, and the local mussels plus a pint of impeccable Guinness perked him up considerably. He looks quite human now. But not enough for a night on the tiles in Bantry to celebrate our arrival. I may pop back to the pub later, since they were advertising live music, and I don’t want to leave Ireland without going to live music in a pub at least once. It’s still light and it’s a lovely evening.

We have a few more days to explore Cork before we fly back, so here’s hoping a good night’s sleep and no walking will see S somewhat restored.