Galway to wild camp: E2 Day 1

A day of walking along roads by houses, fields, moorland and trees.

I woke in the night and wondered where my wife had gone, forgetting we were now separated by the Irish Sea. We were both following our dreams, and while our activities, our visions of future activities took us apart at times, paradoxically I believed their pursuit made us a stronger team together. 

"The Western Way", the long distance path I was planning to follow, began at Oughterard, a little way from Galway. Ruling out the possibility of catching a bus, I considered three routes for walking there. Most direct, but probably least pleasant, was following the main road. Next option was linking up a series of small back roads giving a hike of 36 kilometres. A little long for a first day of walking but a bit short for two days. I selected a third option, deviating into forest and moorland for a longer trip of 42 kilometres that I would cover in two days, wild camping somewhere undefined on the way.

Crossing the river and passing the canal with a hopeful swan and a heron, I walked out from the scenic centre of Galway. As I progressed the houses became gradually more modern until eventually they thinned out and I was among green fields bordered by dry stone walls made of chunks of granite. Well presented houses continued to be scattered lightly along the roadside for most of the day. As my distance from Galway grew, the fields became scattered with granite blocks and outcrops, until in time the field boundaries disappeared and the rocks stood in boggy land with black lakes (or loughs) edged by reeds. An exception was a well groomed golf course I crossed, with patches of trees between bright green manicured fairways. In the morning the sun was giving the world the full benefit of its warmth and light, turning the flowers of gorse that grew on the roadside a dazzling yellow. Near the city the roads I was following were busy with traffic, as I headed out first the pavement disappeared, then the roads narrowed from two to a single lane, and thankfully the cars become progressively fewer.

Quiet road north of Galway with drystone walls.

Lakes (or loughs), blanket bog, conifer plantations and wind farms (to be typical of my route across Ireland).

I planned to miss out a section of tarmac road by diverting through a wind farm, but the first gate had a "No Entry to Unauthorised Personnel" sign. So I entered at the next gate which was unlocked and had no such sign. Today the several wind farms in the area were not earning their keep, the blades were still, lacking any wind. A major limitation of wind energy is that some other form of power is needed when the wind does not blow. Near my exit from the wind farm was a building claiming to run an "Activity Park". On the gate where I rejoined the road, a sign stated "Authorised Personnel Only" and in addition warned that it was "A Live Fire Area". As the shooting activities being offered by the Activity Centre were paintball and laser tag, I did not feel my life had been unduly threatened. A later wind farm also had signs prohibiting entry on its more substantial gates. It seems wind farms owners here do not like walkers or others seeking outdoor recreation. I am unsure why as there seems little risk in letting people in and a positive benefit in terms of public relations for an industry that frequently faces opposition to new schemes.

I was encountering waymarks and a footpath sign for the "Slí Chonamara" or Connemara Way pointing in the direction I was walking. Generally these consisted of a black post with an arrow and walking person stamped on it and the indentation made filled with yellow paint, or else a metal plate was nailed to the post. The yellow paint on these plates had faded white with age but looking carefully I could see they once had the same image of a walking person and arrow. Perusal of the internet revealed that the Connemara Way opened in 2007 but was effectively abandoned in 2012. Nevertheless many waymarks and signs remain although I could not find any detailed map of where it went. By chance I followed its path for most of today. At the time it was criticised for following too many roads but as Ireland does not have "rights of way" legislation similar to England, Scotland or other European countries, creating long distance paths off public roads is not easy.

In time the tarmac ended and I was on a forest track among either conifers, or their sad remains after being felled and harvested. A sign warned of forestry activities and I could hear something in the distance. As I reached the mileage I had planned for the day, I turned off the gravel track onto a fire break. Coincidentally the yellow waymarks of the Connemara Way took the same route, passing close to a lake. The narrow "path" was initially muddy, marshy, wet and uneven. Slipping over I was glad to reach more stable ground. Finding a good camping spot was not easy on the tussocky ground, with depressions filled with water saturated sphagnum moss. What sounded like pile driving was taking place not so far away, so I picked a spot among young trees unlikely to need felling and read awhile, delaying erection of my tent to avoid attracting attention. As dusk approached the noise eventually ceased and I heard a vehicle drive down a nearby track. My tent was by now erected with my sleeping bag lying in a groove left by some vehicle many years ago. I was hoping this restricted but linear feature would allow me to gain a good night's sleep.