Braden Forest to Mellon Country Inn: E2 Day 22

A sunny morning walking over bogs and along roadways, then it rained, so no view from Bessy Bell.

Although there was little frost this morning it seemed a cold night, however the skies had only a few small clouds and the sun was just rising with the makings of a good day. The nearby wind turbines were turning slowly with a quiet, repetitive moan as I washed and brushed me teeth in the nearby brook, trying to avoid falling in as I balanced on the rocking rocks. My legs were stiff and balance more precarious first thing in the morning after lying idle all night. Soon I was on my way through the last stands of the forest, loosening up my limbs, and listening to a nearby turbine which sounded as if it had a broken bearing as it clunked around. 

Beyond the trees a lake, silvered in the morning light, was surrounded by moorland and another wind farm, whose columns made a lonely house seem tiny. Here the Ulster Way left the gravel track to head over the bog. There was no clear path but in places the tracks of an Quad bike could be seen. Posts of various kinds intermittently marked the route. The ground was very wet and I had to tread carefully to avoid filling my boots with water, avoiding the bright green, saturated sphagnum moss and aiming for the roots of heather and rushes. Leaving the bog behind I walked on quiet roads looking down on the pattern of fields, the trees casting long shadows in the morning light. 

Lough Lee in the morning light.

Waterlogged, pathless bog on Bolaght Mountain.

View down onto fields.

I had hoped to shop for some sustenance in Drumlegegh as my supplies were dwindling, but despite being within the advertised opening hours the shop was shut, either for Easter or forever. 

As noon approached I was climbing through the conifer plantations of the Baronscourt Estate - "No Entry" a sign said unless you are walking the Ulster Way. By now the International Appalachian Trail had joined the Ulster Way. From this point the two trails are essentially the same. A sign said the trail was following the same type of geology as that in the Appalachian mountains in the USA, which is followed by the original, famous Appalachian Trail.

As I climbed up Bessy Bell, one of the higher mountains in the area at 420 metres, I could see the rain approaching, a white cloud consuming the landscape as it came closer. Soon the visibility was reduced to a few hundred metres by the precipitation. I passed a hiker coming down and on hearing I was following the Ulster Way, advised avoiding the route across the bog down from the summit and use the gravel roads created for Bessy Bell's wind farms. As he predicted, at the top there was little to see beyond the trig point, a radio mast and associated building. A soft whiteness embraced the hillside hiding any semblance of the distant views Bessy Bell was known for. I sheltered behind the building from the cold, wet wind that had blown up to add an extra layer of clothes as the temperature had dropped rapidly with the rain. Taking his advice I then descended to the wind farm road to avoid any accidents (twisted knees, broken legs, water filled boots) on the irregular and wet ground of the bog. However based on the new looking waymarks, I realised that the Ulster Way had been rerouted to take advantage of the wind farm roads, which pleased me as it meant I was not cutting out a difficult bit of the official route. 

As I progressed down the mountain the rain blew away and I could again see the surrounding farmland. I had not far to go now as I had booked into the Mellon Country Inn on the busy A5 road. Having enjoyed lunch and a shower I am now researching the next part of the route. After tomorrow the daily stages look progressively more taxing until I reach the sea at Castlerock. I am hoping I am up to the challenge....