Dowra to Belcoo: E2 Day 16

Disappointing at first today, but improved from the Shannon Pots.

Rain was falling most of the night, and even through I remained dry there was an air of pervasive dampness in the tent. Thankfully as I stirred myself around 6:30 am, the rain had ceased, although shreds of clouds were passing in front of nearby mountains. Later in the day there were even periods of sunlight, although mixed in with a brief shower.

I continued along the path beside the River Shannon. A merry picture of water tumbling over rocks, but it proved difficult to frame a good photos of it without including a plastic sack, discarded by a farmer. Although many efforts had been made to improve the path, such as installing footbridges and stiles, the ground itself was muddy and much disturbed by the hoof prints of cows. My trekking poles were useful for balance as I stepped from one stone to the next or one grassy lump to another.

The youthful River Shannon

Field made muddy by cows.

In time I joined a road, then another, leading me to the entrance of the "Shannon Pot", my first "sight" of the day. Here the infant River Shannon flows out of a pool, fed by water rising from underground passages. A feature sometimes seen in limestone landscapes, although I have encountered better examples in Serbia. The pool was rather overhung by trees, with a few drainage ditches emptying into it, so the full significance of what was happening was somewhat hidden.

Progressing over fields and hills the next area of interest was the Cavan Burren Park. The "Burren" refers to the limestone landscape. Although a good example of a limestone pavement was missing there was a sinkhole (a hole in the ground, maybe leading to a cave system). I noticed that as I moved onto the limestone there was no longer heather on the moorland. However the main attractions of the park were for me the tombs dating from thousands of years BC, slabs of exposed rock enclosing a chamber. There were also some large erratics, boulders brought from a long distance away in the ice ages by the movement of ice. After deviating onto the "orange path" to see the visitor centre and the highlights of the park, I returned to the Cavan Way for my descent into the village of Blacklion.

Remains of Neolithic "wedge" tomb.

Attached to the petrol station at Blacklion was a café which served me a welcome coffee and sandwich before it was time to check into my accommodation at nearby Belcoo, just over the border in Northern Ireland. I had thought to eat at the nearby Custom House but it was closed, apparently since the Covid pandemic, however Maguire's, the bar nearby, served me a steak sandwich. Unfortunately I am suffering from a tight, right buttock, made worse by my relaxing on the bed after arriving at my accommodation. I must have pulled a muscle somewhere, it made my walking back and fore to dinner rather lopsided.