Easter-6 weeks to go!

Already our visit to Cyprus is like a distant memory, not least because of being plunged back in to winter here in the North West corner of Ireland!

Thoughts of walking have far superceded actual walking and my entire training has consisted of a trip to the delightful Magherabeg swimming pool overlooking  Sheephaven Bay in Donegal with my Grandchildren.

At one stage I considered a walk around the Atlantic Drive, 7 miles around the Rosguill peninsula but settled for a short walk along Downings Pier instead which ended up with a visit to McNutts coffee shop overlooking the bay. The bitingly cold wind would have "cleaned corn!". I know it will be wet in Galicia but at least we are  hoping for warm rain!?



Tramore beach - Downings

  Rosguill in North Donegal has many connections with St Columba and an ancient stone cross embedded in the roadside wall near to An Sibin Ceoil (the singing pub) is reputedly one of the places he stopped to water his horse.

On days when the sky is blue and the sun is shining, this part of Ireland, in my opinion, is as close as you can come to having heaven on earth. Walking along this golden sandy beach listening to the waves is great way of reflecting and thinking, very therapeutic and relaxing.


At the furthest point along this beach you are overlooking Ards Friary, well worth a visit for its simple but calming church, beautifiul grounds and many walking routes.
Ards, although appearing extremely close  is  not accessible from this point but by way of the village of Creeslough along the county road.

The Rosguill youth hostel also shares an interesting link with the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool.

The Youth hostel at Tra na Rossan was originally designed as a hunting lodge by Edwin Lutyens, a famous british architect credited with the design of many magnificient buildings in Ireland, Britain and India.

This hostel is the most northerly youth hostel in all Ireland! It is located at the northern edge of the Rosguill Peninsula in an Irish speaking (Gaeltacht) area. As far as I am aware this is the only one of Lutyens designs you can sleep in! It is reached via the spur road off the Atlantic Drive-signposted Melmore Head.

 

Tra na Rossan bay



Lutyens was commissioned in 1929 to design a new Roman Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool. He planned a vast building of brick and granite, topped with towers and a 510-foot dome. Work started in 1933, but was halted during the second world war. After the war, the project ended due to a shortage of funding, with only the crypt completed.  The present Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral was built over land adjacent to the crypt and was consecrated in 1967. The cathedral  was hosting a fascinating exhibition about the Turin shroud last year when I was in Liverpool. It is a magnificient very modern style building and well worth a visit if you are anywhere near to the city.

http://www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/

 





 Youth Hostel
Tra na Rossan


 Tomorrow I will walk no matter what the weather decides to throw at me. Trudy