July 4, 2015
Kinsale to Dunowen Head
It was a really wet and windy night, we were lucky to be sheltered from the worst of the wind and the trusty Quasar didn’t let in a drop. It’s a heavy tent at around 4kg but we’ve had it out in terrible conditions and it’s never let us down. We had muesli sitting in the tent, still wet and cold, so we didn’t feel like moving. It always seems to take us ages to get going in the mornings, after a while it cleared off and we packed up and cycled down to Kinsale. Kinsale is renowned as the gourmet capital of Ireland, and it’s a really popular base for Ocean cruising so it was packed with Yachts. We had a very tasty breakfast in a small cafe, with a view over the harbour, cheered by blue sky appearing overhead. It was another really nice day, navigation was made easy as the route is well signed.
We had a long slog up to the Old Head of Kinsale where there is a lighthouse and a golf course, there was a huge protest here years ago when a private company bought the whole headland which is a peninsula, built a golf course, and then banned the public from walking around the head which was a cliff walk with great views. Money obviously prevailed as the golf course is gated and the great unwashed are not allowed access. There is a nice view from the road above the head and there is an old watch tower from the Napolenic Wars there. On the way up, there was a woman pushing a buggy in front of us and between the hill and the head wind we struggled to catch up with her, not so good for the ego!
On to Timoleague, with the R600 hugging the sea, Timoleague has a huge ruined abbey, public toilets (a rarity) and a parked outside the abbey was a chip van. Maybe the monks were partial to chips? We certainly were and had a couple of bags and a brew of tea. We swam at a deserted beach at the back of Courtmacsherry, Skin declared the water to be ‘warm’ I couldn’t agree with that but it was definitely less cold than the last time. The swimming definitely helps to reduce the saddle damage!
On to Clonakilty, Clon to the locals, a great little town, famous for traditional music and good food. It was lively and we stocked up at the local SuperValu, the usual, fresh pasta tomatos, peppers. The skys were greying over as we passed Owenahicha beach and we found a perfect wild camping spot on the track to the beach at Dunowen head. There was a small hotel not far from the beach and they very kindly filled our water bottles so we were set for the night.
Today's ride: 78 km (48 miles)
Total: 383 km (238 miles)
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