Nephin Wilderness to Sheskin Forest North: E2 Day 8

A wet day on some busy roads in the morning then deep into the Sheskin forest, far from any home comforts.

Looking out from the shelter from the warmth of my sleeping bag, munching on a breakfast of cheese and pitta bread, I could see an overcast sky above the pine trees opposite, rather than the pink of dawn I had enjoyed on earlier mornings. Rain was forecast but I made a few kilometres along forest tracks before it began to drizzle. Leaving the forest by a sign still saying the fire risk of the wet trees was orange and no camping was allowed, I joined the "Bog road" across the heath which stretched for miles towards far away wind turbines. At first sight the bog looked all the same, a flat, wet area of light brown vegetation. However I soon realised it was not completely flat, the road gently rose and fell. The vegetation varied from heather to rushes to bleached grass. Occasionally a few sheep collected together, a little disconsolate in the drizzle. Straight, low banks were evidence of past peat cutting. Peat was still being used as a fuel, earlier in my walk I had seen stacks of peat "bricks" drying beneath plastic sheets. I also saw long parallel "sausages" of peat, presumably dug out by a machine. At Bellacorick, a collection of a few empty houses and a long closed bar, there was once a peat burning power station. Now wind turbines, slowly turning nearby, generate the power, preserving the peat bog, which apparently stores large amounts of carbon. So by saving the bog, less carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere and so less global warming. Bellacorick's other claim to fame is the "Musical Bridge". With the roar of the traffic (I was now on the busy N59 road) it did not sound musical to me, however a later sign told me I should have run along, dragging a stone along the parapet to make the bridge play a few musical notes. YouTube has some demonstrations of the phenomena. 

Bog road north of Nephin Wilderness on a damp day.

Walking along the N59 road for a few kilometres was an unpleasant experience. I jumped onto the uneven verge as lorries went by but the blast of air from their slipstream was a bit unnerving, as were the fast cars racing by.

Leaving the N59 I followed a track into forestry. Two lorries were driving up and down taking road stone for construction works further up the track. The ground shuddered as they went by with their heavy loads. Reaching the point where they were renewing or strengthening the gravel road my progress was prevented by a pair of JCB diggers, sweeping their hydraulic arms back and fore, distributing the road stone delivered by the lorries. Fortunately, on spotting me they briefly stopped work so I could safely pass by. Good men. There were road signs saying "Hard Hats must be worn" and "No Unauthorised entry" immediately before the work site but in order to follow the Western Way, and avoid retracing a lot of steps, I had no choice but to walk through the construction zone. I did not stop at the site office after the JCBs (with "Visitors must report to the site office" signs) in case they told me that I should not be there, which would place me in an awkward position. So I hurried on and soon I was up the road out of sight. For the rest of the day, maybe for 20 kilometres of forest, I saw only one car, and it did not stop, the driver just waved. Instead I spotted a group of four deer, who on seeing me headed off, leaping over the detritus of tree felling operations. Areas where trees had been harvested looked devastated. Branches, roots and trunks too small to be commercial were piled up in untidy jumbled heaps that spread over many acres.

Devastation that is left after harvesting the trees.

In the middle of the forest the Western Way followed a boardwalk for a few kilometres rather than a gravel road. The rain had made the wooden planks slippery and I took care to make sure my boots engaged with the  "u" shaped nails hammered into the wood. Towards the end of the day rain and drizzle had been falling for many hours, the gusting wind pelting me with rain drops. Water was slowly seeping through gaps in my waterproofs and exploiting the times when I reached for my camera or dug into my rucksack for an "Oatie" biscuit. Having covered almost 40 kilometres by 4:30 pm it was time to stop. Camping spots were almost non-existent, the trees were too close, or the ground too uneven as well as being behind barbed wire. In the end I chose an old "pull in" just off the track. No longer used the grass had grown over it. The rain had briefly stopped but furious gusts of wind made pitching difficult, hopefully my tent will stay up overnight.

Forestry track in the rain.