Today was our day of rest so what did we do? We....went for a walk. The locals here in Ballydavid all think the weather will be bad enough tomorrow that we won't be able to make the ascent over Mount Brandon. This is disappointing since our walk yesterday was cut short. There is an alternate route we can take along the side of the mountain even in bad weather. So we will make a decision in the morning.
We were talking to our hosts Philamena and Mike this morning and they suggested a cliff side walk that leads to the ruins of an old castle. The weather was amazing today and we knew we had to take advantage of it especially if we can't climb Mount Brandon. Mike was kind enough to give us a lift to the start of the path and then the plan was to walk the entire way back into town.
Today's walk
The cliff side part of the walk marked in red was an easy grassy path with sheer cliff drop offs to our left. Then the path turns right with a steep climb up the ridge. At the top there were the remnants of a castle in the form of stone walls. The steep climb was well worth the effort for the 360 view at the top.
Cliff drop offs with view of Three Sisters in the distance
View from the top
Descending from the castle
We didn't stay too long because we had already stopped several times to take pictures and we had to get back to Ballydavid for a 3 pm massage appointment. We followed the yellow path back to our hotel. We got off the ridge and I looked at my watch and it was 1:45 pm and we had to walk 5 miles. Yikes. We picked up the pace and made that 5 miles in just less than an hour. And then I really needed that massage.
We had a mellow dinner at TP's pub again and then back to the B&B to get ready for tomorrow. Given we had two days of amazing weather and a sunset to remember I think our time in Ballydavid will be a highlight of our trip.
Stats
- Miles: 8
- Floors climbed: 69
- Steps: 19,500
- Hikers seen: 8
- Castles: 1