Ballyboley Forest to Monkstown: E2 Day 35

Fast walking on roads and forest tracks to the northern suburbs of Belfast.

Overnight I was gently lulled by the soft sounds of trees moving in the gentle breeze, and again it seemed sad to leave the comfortable confines of my sleeping bag. After rising to the challenge of decamping I set off downhill leaving the forest soon after. Thereafter the route traced a wide "Z" as it approached the village of Ballynure, keeping to roads with green fields each side, scattered houses and farms. My arrival in the village coincided with the start of school, the road blocked by parents dropping off their small, well groomed children. Not expecting to find a café, based on my perusal of Google Maps, I was delighted to find "Jackson's" coffee shop open, where I enjoyed a modest cooked breakfast (and a toilet). Funny how unexpected food brightens my day!

Suitably fueled I briskly walked on through the next village of Straid. I had been seeing signs and banners relating to the Queen's death over the last week, in Straid lamposts stood in for flag poles with the Union Jack hung at half mast. The Orangemen's hall had even more flags, even extending across the street. A contrast to an old and neglected Masonic Hall I passed on leaving the village with an exterior of white peeling paint ornamented by black lines and insignia. A man with a paint brush had just started to bring it back to its former glory.

A lamppost stands in for a flagpole so that flags can be hung at half mast.

Throughout today I was sampling the blackberries growing in the hedgerows. Some were sour, others squashed as I tried to pick them. Between the two they were sweet, soft and luscious. 

After more roads I entered Woodburn Forest, walking down the main track admiring the sycamores each side just turning yellow (the leaves also had black spots). Then I realised I had missed a turning. I should have just continued, following a shorter and probably more interesting route by a lake, instead I pedantically retraced my steps to walk the "correct" route of the Ulster Way through the less attractive conifers. 

Some of today's road walking.

Walking through Woodburn woods (on the wrong forest track).

After the woods there was more road walking, a farm track and then I was at Three Mile Water. A green corridor surrounded by housing that would lead me to the sea. By now I had walked 27 kilometres (including my wrong turn) and was tiring, the soles of my feet starting to burn. There were 12 more to reach the centre of Belfast, so I decided to catch a bus from Monkstown, a suburb on the northern edge of the urban area surrounding the city, to a budget hotel near the centre. I will return tomorrow or the next day to complete the final stretch.

A gpx file of my route can be found on wikiloc.com and OutdoorActive.