Spain in January and February, 2024.

 

Our local cafe in Guardamar with Christmas decorations.

We arrived in Guardamar del Segura just after Christmas and was able to see the street and café decorations before they were taken down and marking the start of 2024.

Ayuntamiento Guardamar (town hall) taken from the top of the adjacent museum.

A view of the Ayuntamiento with the Christmas decoration in early January.

Everything seemed so familiar,  even though it was eight months since our last visit. This time we were staying for only two months and planning to return for a month in May and probably October. Our cycles had been stored and after inflating the tyres, we were ready to check out the surroundings areas starting with the local park extending to the beach and marina.

A popular walk and also cycle ride through the dune forest to the long beach and marina. We don't see many birds but mostly house sparrows, blackbirds, hoopoes and black redstarts.

One of our first cycle trips was to La Marina village and beach (about 21 km in total) to see the shoreline and look at the Las Salinos (Santa Pola). Here I got some nice shots of flamingo and other waders from an adjacent bird hide.

Capturing a moment with a flamingo's head out of the water.

..and an avocet.

Another bird that we also see on the tidal Segura river, is the black backed stilt.

We did an organised tour of the castle above Guardamar and also the Phoenician and Roman sites in the dune forest that have been excavated over the 10 or so years since we have visited the area. The medieval Islamic Caliphate "Rabita" is situated next the the Phoenician city of  La Fonteta and this makes a very educational morning visit with excellent guides.

View from the castle wall overlooking Guardamar with the sea and Sant Pola in the distance. The original town of Guardamar was situated in the castle walls but was mostly destroyed in an earth quake in 1829.

The remains of the Islamic "Rabita" built over a earlier Phoenician settlement.

We also visited a Roman villa and fish factory near the beach just south of Guardamar. We had walked past this area many times, especially during the Covid lock-down and hadn't been aware of the roman remains. 

Part of El Moncayo or El Montcaio, another Roman site in the dunes.

On this visit we had also planned to take a few days in Valencia which is just a two hour rail trip to the north on route to Barcelona. We got the local bus to Alicante and then walked to the rail station and then we were in Valencia by mid-afternoon. The accommodation was near the centre so we had a 20 min walk as the station is in the northern area of the city. In the evening we walked around the area to see the lights and fountains and then found a convenient restaurant nearby.

Night lights in the centre.

The following day we had a more extensive walk to explore the city, mainly to the north and to the Jardins del Turia. This is a large area made from the old bed of the river Turia that once passed through the centre of the city but was diverted after some major flooding and loss of life.

A view of the gardens in the winter sunshine.

 We found the older part of the city and a relaxing lunch in the sunshine. The following day, we took the hop-on and hop-off bus to tour the city and see some of the changes since our last visit (February, 2012) and recognised some the places we'd seen before, in particular the Playa Levante that we cycled to from the campsite.

On our return to Guardamar, we did a day trip to Elche. This is a short bus ride from Guardamar with regular buses to the modern station in Elche that is conveniently placed near the Palm Groves for which Elche is famous. We had been to Elche before in 2012 when we were camping at Marjal complex but coming by bus was more relaxing without the problems of finding parking. We again visited the Basillica de Snt Maria and climbed the narrow steps to get a view of the city. The museum next door was closed for renovation work so we had a pleasant walk around the centre and relaxing lunch, again in the sunshine.

The river walk alongside the palms and through the extensive gardens. There is the remains of a stream in the river bottom

We returned to the station by the riverside walk and through the Palm Groves and also passing the landmark mill above the river.

A view of the mill from a bridge.

Back in Guardamar, we continued cycling to local towns and beaches and also visited the craft caves in Rojales again. We basically had two months without rain during the day and avoided the wettest February in the south-west of England on record.

Some displays above the caves in Rojales.

Also during this visit we joined a local walking group and did a morning picking litter near Rojales in the area adjacent to the river. In all, we look forward to returning in May and also going to Cordoba for a few days to see the "patios of flowers".

Devon walk, Week Village , Westcombe to Dartington.

 This walk today was one of many that we started in the period over Covid restrictions in 2020-2022 but have continued to do at times in 2023. It is a convenient walk for us as it starts from our home in Dartington and passes through the small village of Week just down the way. 

A "Baker" estate development of 40 houses on Sawmills nearby. This should be completed in the summer and hopefully before the end of 2024.

Passing the new development we took the country road into Week village passing over Bidwell brook which was in full spate. The walk I describe was on January 2nd 2024 during an Atlantic storm, Henk, that has been battering the country with rainfall over night with high winds.

Bidwell Brook in spate at the bridge in Week village.

After the bridge the route goes left past "Post Box cottage"  passing through the outskirts of the village and allotments with the brook in the valley to the north and views of Beacon Copse, small hill evident in the local landscape. The road itself was covered in places with much debris from farmers hedge-cutting and the storm. The rain overnight meant that the road was also flooded in places where there was a dip.

A view if Bidwell Brook from the outskirts of Week village.

Near Belleigh where the road was flooded.

On reaching a farm labelled "Belleigh", the road was flooded to over two foot depth so we decided to cross into the adjacent field and find a way around the flood. This proved more difficult than we had thought as there wasn't a gate to get back on the road after the flood. Rather than turn back, we found a way through a small copse near the brook and  then checked the road again. However, there was another flooded area so we returned to the fields to find a small gate to access the road, The water on the road was still quite high but we were so close to Westcombe that we decided we'd get our feet wet rather than go back. The route after this was wet but fine to walk although the gusts of wind were strong at this stage.

Road into Westcombe

At Westcombe, the route goes through Westcombe Farm. This is sign-posted from the road and follows a track through the farm to gain height to a lane that then connects to the road to the village of Rattery.

Not tarmac but an old lane connecting to a road to Rattery

 On reaching the road, the route turns right to follow the road to Huxham's Cross, a small Dartington estate village on the edge of Dartington. This was straight forward passing Water Lane and a few caravans used by people to live, although I don't envy them much on a day like today but needs must though. We have been down Water Lane and it is rough going as it is all down hill and the water has cut deep channels in the lane. However, today we gave it a miss,

The beginning of Water Lane that leads to the settlement of Hood and Steiner School and a cycle-way to Dartington.

Once at Huxham's Cross it is a direct route on a path the St Mary's church and onto the village itself and shops.

In all the walk takes about 2 hours or less in good conditions. The route is particularly good in the spring with the emerging flowers and also with snowdrops in February. 

Ring of Kerry Cycle Ride, Iveragh Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland.

This cycle trip was part of a two-week holiday to the Republic of Ireland from 1st. September until the 15 th. September 2023. The trip included two nights in Dublin and two in Cork at the beginning before travelling on to Killarney to start the cycle trip. At the end of the holiday, we travelled back to Dublin before flying home via Exeter. We travelled between cities by rail (www.irishrail.ie) getting our tickets using their mobile app. The cycling was organised by "The Natural Adventure" and their local operators "Ireland Walk Hike Bike". They organised the cycles, accommodation, bag transfer and the GPS for the route. We also took with us Discovery Series Ordnance Survey Maps of Ireland numbers 78, 83 and 84 and marked the GPS route on these maps. These maps where useful in seeing the landscape along the route and as backup when our mobile batteries depleted. We found that when using the GPS the batteries did not last for the whole route. 

The trip was something we'd been thinking of for several years as we had hitch-hiked and walked around Ireland as students from 25 th August to September 5 th.,1969, staying at youth Hostels, However, we ran out of time on the part around the "Ring of Kerry" from Killarney, so didn't get to stay at the Youth Hostel on the island of Valentia. In fact this hostel, "Valentia Island Youth Hostel" was open from 1966 to 2003. We did hire cycles (uncomfortable for me I recall!) to visit Ross Castle and the upper lake and from my diary: "sat in the sun and went in the water". On this trip we also passed through Kenmare which is also on our cycle route.

We arrived early in Dublin city on Friday morning and found the Dublin Express between the airport and the centre, bus number 782. They run from each terminal to the main quays along side the River Liffey, i.e. Aston Quay and Wellington Quay.  Our hotel was a short walk from here and north of the river. After lunch we had a reservation at the Guinness Store House. This was very busy but well organised and we did manage to get our pint of Guinness and view of the city from the top floor.

Pint of Guinness in Dublin with the Wicklow mountains, the source of the water for the factory, in the background.

 

View of the St Patrick's windmill tower (1805) with a copper roof, the tallest in Europe at one time and built to grind corn for distillation.

I also found the exhibition and videos of the coopering (making the oak casks or barrels) and the various specialised tools that they used in the trade was very interesting and related to my own interest in wood working.

The next day we did the Hop-on/off bus tour stopping firstly at the EPIC centre (The Irish Immigration Museum) and collecting the passport stamps for the various parts of the exhibition. This is a modern museum with lots to see and tells the story of immigration and also the success of some of the most famous immigrants in different parts of the world. There wasn't time to see much more but on our return visit we will be staying more centrally on the south side of the river so will be able to explore the college area and parks there.

The next day we caught the train to Cork (direct) and walked to Lancaster Lodge stopping at "Lab 82" for lunch on route. This is about a 30-40 minute walk and so on our return journey we took a taxi as the station is a little out of the centre of Cork. Ireland was having a heat wave with temperatures up to 24 C and predicted to get higher during the week.  There is quite a lot to do in Cork and we started with the Cork Butter Museum which proved interesting with lots of artefacts to do with the history of butter making and a film on the virtues of "Kerry Gold" butter now famous through out the world. After lunch we found the Elizabethan Fort with the history of it's development alongside information about some of the women who were jailed there before being deported to Australia and their fate after they survived a particular ship wrecking. I learned that it didn't take much to get sent to the colonies in those times, a petty theft seemed to do the trick although surviving the harsh conditions on board was something else.

The next stage was by train to Killarney changing at Mallow and then lunch on the way into town, about ten minutes from the station, We stayed at Abbey Lodge where our cycles were delivered. I had an hybrid cycle (Ridgeback Elements Hybrid) with 27 gears and Helen had a newish Haibike Trekking 7 that could do over 100 km on a full battery. I needed the 27 gears with 1/1-3 essential for me on the steeper hills and Helen only used 23 % of the battery charge on the most demanding day. The route involved 6 days cycling and 277 km (173 miles) with 2965 m total elevation. This amounts to about 46 km/day (29 miles) and we recorded an average speed of 16.8 km/h (10.5 mph).

Our first day was a leisurely local ride to get used to the cycles starting from Killarney and going around Muckross Lake and visiting the park and gardens. We had intended to stop at Dinis Cottage near Brickeen Bridge for coffee but this was closed so we continued to the house for lunch. The whole route was a cycleway and off-road with only walkers to share the wide paths.

Lough Leane from Brickeen Bridge.

Temperate rainforest climate in the Brickeen Bridge area.

Cycle path through the park.

After lunch we went to the "Traditional Farms" to see the different farmhouses and workshops from the past. These were run to show the activities as they would have been in the old days, e.g butter and bread making, and it was informative listening to the demonstrations.

One of the open cottages in pleasant sunshine. There was a small 20 acre farm, a labourer's cottage with 1 acre and a larger 40-60 acre farm together with Carpenters workshop, Saddler's and Blacksmith's shop.

 In the evening we cycled to Ross Castle (to remind us of a visit in 1969).

Ross Castle, Killarney, 2023.

The next day we set-off for Glenbeigh near the west coast. To start with the route followed cycle paths out of Killarney and then went onto minor roads just north of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, a mountain range running roughly east to west. The official route is by the town of Killorglin but we avoided the town by keeping south to Lough Acoose and skirting north along Lough Caragh stopping at the "Climbers Inn", a welcome break before some steeper climbs. The route was picturesque along the small roads wending up and down through farmland and woodland.

Gaddagh river draining from Hags Glen in the Macgillycuddy's Reeks (the mountains seen in the background).

Lough Acoose from the road looking east to the mountains.

View of the River Caragh from Blackstones Bridge.

We stopped for a break as we crossed the River Caragh before turning north along the west side of Lough Caragh. This did involve a steep climb in temperatures of about 28 C so we did have to stop to enjoy the view a few times. We didn't get any good views of the loch itself and all the land between the road and the loch was privately owned so we couldn't find any public access to cool in the loch waters; seems a real pity but something we often found on the route I'm afraid. Our stay at the Towers Hotel in Glanbeigh was very pleasant if not hot with the temperatures falling slowly in the evening.

Viewpoint of Caragh river on joining the N70 to Glenbeigh

On the third day we left Glenbeigh in the cool of the morning on the Curra road slowly climbing towards the coast.

The Curra road climbing out of Glenbeigh following the "The Kelly Way", a popular walker's route.

View towards the west coast near Coolnaharragill Upper with the long red Fuschi hedges. 

Along the route we passed a couple of walkers following "The Kerry Way" and also saw the European sign for Velo1 that also follows this part of the cycle route. We had followed Velo 1 along the west coast of France from Spain to Roscoff and also part of the Devon Coast to Coast cycle route, so it was nice to see the signs again. Also along this section we became more aware of the abundance of the Fuschia hedges in full bloom, something in common with parts of Cornwall. Then we joined the busier N70 main road for a short time and saw three of the dreaded tourist buses but it wasn't bad and gave us places to stop to see the great view from the cliffs overlooking Dingle bay.

The morning view from the N70 looking over Dingle Bay.

Our little stone pile to say we'd passed by!!

We soon left the main road to go off-route to "Kells Bay and Gardens". In fact the cycle route goes close to the gardens and only involves a short diversion to drop down to the garden entrance. This was very worthwhile as the gardens are spectacular and worth the extra effort and a coffee. The garden is a wild area of temporal rainforest with lots of wooden sculptures cut from dead tree trunks.

One of the many sculptures in Kells Bay Gardens

Lots of tree palms and abundant mosses.

View from the cafe down to the waters edge in Kells Bay Gardens.

After leaving the gardens we continued to join the route and climb uphill to cross the main road and take minor roads into Cahersiveen. On route, near Mountluke, we stopped at a the rocky beach overlooking Beginish Island with Valencia island in the backdrop and a view of Reenadrolaun Point on Valencia. Here we saw some Pied Wagtails and Oyster Catchers on the shoreline, and we waded in the warm water as well as collecting some beautiful peddles; nice to relax and take in the scenery. We finished the ride backtracking a little and crossing the bridge over the Valencia River. Our Bed and Breakfast accommodation was situated close to the centre of the town and convenient to gain the road and ferry to Valentia Island.

Some Velo 1 signs on the minor roads north of Cahersiveen. These roads avoid the main N70.

Our view from our break on the rocky shoreline across Valencia Harbour to see the peaks of Valencia, our destination for the next day.

Our B&B was spacious and within easy walk to several bars/restaurants on the N70 passing through the centre of town. 

The next morning, with lots of advice from our host, we set-off for the ferry to Valencia. This runs about every 10 minutes to Knight's Town on the east side of the island. We immediately turn left to find the museum about the transatlantic signal station. The history of the laying of the cable to Newfoundland is a story of sheer determination with many failures but it did eventually work properly in 1866 and brought great wealth to the island. 

View across the Portmagee Channel to Knocknadobar hills in the distance. This is the channel that the ferry crosses to the main land.

After a coffee in Knight's Town, we cycled to the north end of the island (mostly uphill) to get a sight of the lighthouse and slate quarries. The high quality slate was used in the Houses of Parliament in London and the Paris Opera House.

Scene from the north end of the island back towards the lighthouse, Knocknadobar hill (690 m), Beginish Island and the rocky shoreline on the mainland where we rested yesterday.

Scene from the summit of the Geokaum (266 m) of Valencia Island  looking north-east across Doulos Bay, Valancia Harbour, and on the right-side, Portmagee Channel. The old met station can be spotted in the lower right of the photo.

Our next stop on the tour of the island was the "Geokaum, Mountain and Fogher cliffs". This involved cycling on a narrow road in a south-westerly direction across the island (mostly uphill!) to reach a car park on the hillside below the peak and viewpoint. The road to the cliffs and peak is OK for cars but too steep for a comfortable cycle ride so we left our cycles and walked to the cliffs and peak. Gaining altitude did mean the temperatures dropped with the wind exposure, and it was a pleasant walk with views along the north side of the island and in every direction on the peak.

View west from Fogher Cliffs showing the remote north side of the island.

The Portmagee Channel from the peak with Portmagee town and bridge in the far distance.

Returning to our cycles, we continued to the western side of the island along narrow country roads to find the "Skellig Experience", an exhibition about the Skellig Islands situated to the west of Valencia. There is an Early Christian Monastery on one of the islands (Great Skellig) that can be visited but looks a challenging climb. The centre has some interesting photos and films about the history of the island and how it was inhabited.  We couldn't figure why anyone would want to live on a steep rock miles from anywhere! By now it was hot again but a pleasant cycle to Chapeltown and back to the ferry with a brief stop at the seashore. We had been recommended O'Neill's "The Point" bar for seafood at the quay on the mainland but neither of us enjoyed the meal, maybe the heat was getting to us!

The next day we left to a chilly start with fog but little traffic on the main road. Most of the day's cycling was on the N70 but it was Sunday and relatively quiet. We passed a church outside Waterville that seemed busy but the town itself was pretty deserted. We drank a coffee from a mobile unit near the green and watched as the morning walkers and joggers passed by.

Waterville in the morning fog, This shows the N70 and the shoreline on the left.

The town was a favourite holiday spot for Charlie Chaplin and his family in 1959-1969. 

After a leisurely break and deciding that the fog wasn't lifting quickly, we pressed on knowing we had a climb ahead of us skirting Farraniaragh Mountain (468 m). This gave great views of Bellinskelligs Bay; the incline wasn't too steep as to my surprise I stayed in 2 nd. gear.

Scene to the north-west looking towards Ballinskelligs Bay.

 

View to the south from the summit at Binn Ui Ruairc showing Abbey Island.

From the summit, the road took a steep curvy down hill tract to the coast and a welcome break in front of a private camping site but with views of the coast and toilet stop.

Our break near An Gleann Beag after a glide down from the hills.

The beach at Glenberg.

A little further we came across a public beach where we stayed for a while taking a dip to cool and enjoy the tranquil setting; the weather by now was hot and the fog had lifted giving a perfect day for riding and sunbathing. We then meandered along the coast on the N70 with ups and downs through Castle Cove and a final uphill drag into Sneem, and our next B&B. We walked into town on "The Kerry Way" and enjoyed a meal and stroll around the wild-life gardens, allotments and paths by the River Sneem (a tributary to the larger Kenmare River). The town has one main street but plenty of restaurants and pubs. 

The next morning we woke to drizzle, our first taste of rain since arriving in Ireland. Our landlady assured us we would get wet today so we donned our wet gear and set-off on the R568 following the sign for Killarney on a gradual incline. The road was not busy and it wasn't long before we were over the first pass to whizz down to Gearha Bridge over the River Blackwater. The GPS sent us right from the main road to a green lane that wasn't inviting for our cycles, so we consulted the paper map to find a better route on the official cycle route but joining the GPS route a little further near a Post-Office and "Blackwater Tavern". The tavern was closed but the post-office and shop proved a good choice for a stop in the drizzle as they made us welcome with a coffee and said to shelter on a veranda at the rear and use their toilets. The rain then lessened as we followed a single track road easterly along a ridge towards the village of Rossacoosane. This was a great track through green countryside and followed a slight incline to a "T" junction and then a steep southerly descent to the main N70 road and a quay with views of the Kenmare River. On the route down we passed two male cyclists heavily loaded struggling on the steep ascent; it did pass through my mind that this ascent was also at the beginning of our ride tomorrow.  The final 5 km into Kenmare was easy although we were once again in the traffic.

We walked into Kenmare which was busy with tourists and their coaches and had a range of places to eat and shop. We didn't recognise the town from our visit 54 years ago! We did find a great store selling bespoke wooden (mainly acacia wood) furniture.

Henry Street in Kenmare,

The next day was our final day on our bikes and perhaps the most challenging of about 50 km with 702 m uphill with two main stages, the first to near Moll's Gap (262 m) and the second to the head of the "Gap of Dunloe" (241 m). Fortunately the weather had improved greatly with a clear day but a cool wind on higher ground. We left Kenmare and retraced our ride west on the N70 and then on an uphill single track road that we sailed down yesterday passing Rossacoosane and heading north to meet the R568 for a few kilometres reaching the side of Barfinnihy Lough. This was a pleasant ride, mainly in first gear for me, and only meeting one car which stopped to enquire if we had come across a golf course. 

Barfinnihy Lough near Moll's Gap.

R568 approaching Moll's Gap.

Shortly after the lough, we made an abrupt left turn onto a track road that descended to "The Black Valley" and leading to the famous "Gap of Dunloe".

Scene looking down to our route along "The Black Valley" running to the east with a few houses dotted along the Owenreagh river.

The descent was fun with a few twists and turns but on a good road without cars.  

A stone welcoming us to the start of "The Black Valley"

The track through the valley near Derryard typical of the scenery in the area,

From a bridge over the Gearhameen River nearing the end of the valley before the climb to the head of the gap.

View from the head of the "Gap of Dunloe"

Soon we were to leave the tranquillity of the valley to meet the day walkers and pony-traps descending from the pass. This is a popular destination from Kate Kearney's Cottage on the lowland on the north side of the pass with numerous jaunting tours. We did feel sorry for the poor horses trudging their way up to the pass in the hot sunshine on tarmac. For us it meant frequent stops to see the view and allow them passage on the narrow track. We noticed later a sign saying that the track was for residents, walkers and jaunting tours but no mention of cyclists. As walkers and jaunting are so linked, i.e. walk one way and get a lift the other, I wondered how long before commercial pressures would restrict access to the pass by this route in the summer. 

 The climb to the pass was easy as the track zig-zagged up the incline and gave great views as shown.

Rest stop on our descent

An easy ride from the pass alongside standing valleys and lakes.

The ride down was great with four main lakes to pass before reaching Kate Kearney's Cottage and a welcome hot chocolate drink. From here it was a easy ride on small roads to join the cycle tracks we used when leaving Killarney and find our way back to where we started the tour.

We then left Killarney by train for a two nights in Dublin visiting the area and gardens near Trinity College and then home.  In all, a great time and well organised by the local reps. Indeed we were lucky to get such good weather during our stay and find such good hospitality and friendliness along the way. It was really something to have such a good time on Valentia and enjoy the relaxed cycling on mainly country roads. Overall, the cycling compares with the Devon "Coast to Coast" but with less of the abrupt change in gradient but longer inclines/descents on the mountain passes.