My last serious Camino training stroll

With the departure date for my camino 10 days away, Sunday was going to be my last serious training hike and after the previous weekend’s 6 hour mountain hike on Sunday and 40 kilometer coastal hike on the May Bank holiday Monday I wanted to finish my hard training on a big note so after some consideration I decided on a longer version of my coastal hike of 6 days earlier.

By starting in Bray rather than Greystones the distance would go up to 16.52 miles to Wicklow town before having a nice carvery lunch in the Leitrim Lounge and then returning back to Bray for a total hike distance of 33.04 miles ( 53.2  kilometers ).

As with 6 days earlier, the underfoot surface mix would be close to that which I will have on the Camino and my new Meindl Meran hiking boots would be further broken in.

My short journey out to Bray was accompanied by steady drizzle and dark cloudy skies and even as I laced up my boots the drizzle continued but with less cloudy skies visible to the south I chanced not putting on my rain gear as the steady climb in the first mile should keep me warm and gloves and a fleece cap would hopefully provide enough protection.

A brisk pace on the uphill Bray Head path soon saw me feeling nicely warm and the promenade in Bray was soon a receding view behind me.

The railway line from Dublin to Rosslare passes precariously along the coastal edge of Bray Head and due to erosion has had to be rerouted on a couple of occasions.

By the time I started the gradual descent towards Greystones the steady drizzle had ceased although throughout the remainder of the stretch to Wicklow, the hills around Newtownmountkennedy and Ashford remained shrouded in cloud.

As you proceed down the coast, a little known memorial marks the point where the first telegraph cable across the Irish Sea was brought ashore.

Finally after 4 hours and 31 minutes I reached Wicklow town and gratefully eased off my backpack and entered the Leitrim Lounge and with a healthy appetite built up enjoyed a very nice roast beef lunch.

However all good things come to an end so after a coffee to nicely finish the meal, boots were laced up again and soon I was on the Murrough heading north on my 16.5 mile return trip to Bray.

The fauna along the coastal dune system isn’t the most interesting visually but at least some buttercups and cowslips provided some welcome bursts of colour.

Someone with a little spare time on their hands had taken the time to make a little wooden sculpture or is it possible that washed up wood came to rest in such a visually pleasing arrangement?

Even though I’d been fortunate to have avoided the rain other than at the very start of my hike a brief rain shower near Killoughter afforded me the opportunity of a nice shot of a rainbow over the sea.

As I neared Kilcoole, the annual nesting season of the small tern was obviously nearing as the usual stretch of the beach where they nest had been cordoned off.

Last year, high tides backed by strong onshore winds had resulted in both nestings being washed away so hopefully this year will be more successful.

Finally after 4 hours 43 minutes I arrived back at the promenade in Bray and was more than a little relieved to ease off my backpack and boots and reflect with quiet satisfaction on a tiring, but useful in terms of my Camino preparation, hike of 33.04 miles ( 53.2 kilometers ) in a total walking time of 9 hours 14 minutes.

Of course no matter how well you feel you’ve performed, there’s always another level to aspire to as that legend of Irish hill walking circles Tom Milligan mentioned to me as he used this self same walk when preparing for extreme length hiking events but in Tom’s case he’d walk from his house in Mount Merrion to Bray, then do the same hike as mine and walk home from Bray, a round trip of 52 miles which he’d routinely cover in a little under 13 hours 30 minutes.

My wind down between now and my departure for St. Jean Pied de Port will comprise 2 easy gym sessions this week with an extra emphasis on my stretching routine, a visit to my podiatrist on Wednesday to have a couple of small corns on my left foot excised and a deep tissue massage 2 days before departing.

Next weekend will see me do an easy hike on Sunday and a final decision on whether to include some small optional items in my final packing list before subjecting myself to the Ryanair cabin baggage size check in Dublin Airport.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

Well no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t come up with a credible reason to duck out of my planned Monday walk with my regular hill walking companion Rosa Murray even after my exertions of the previous day with the Irish Ramblers so I found myself on the May Bank Holiday Monday making the short drive to Greystones to meet up with Rosa and her other regular walking partner Lousha.
Truth be told though, I was looking forward to the walk as an important part of my Camino preparation for a couple of reasons: I was breaking in my intended footwear for the Camino: a new pair of Meindl Meran GTX hiking boots. After a lot of agonising thought I had decided to seek an alternative to my Lowa Munro boots which although well suited to Irish rough ground hill walking had some drawbacks for the Camino – they are heavy coming in at 2.010 kgs and they are quite dense in the sole which makes them a little uncomfortable on prolonged tarmac/ pavement stretches of which there are several lengthy stretches of 10 km+ through cities like Pamplona, Burgos and Leon on the Camino.
The Meindl Meran’s weigh in at 1.610 kgs and have a softer sole compound and several 1 hour long road walks looked promising but what was needed to make a final decision was an extra long walk to see if any pressure points would show on my feet.
As my outline Camino schedule  would see me averaging about 34.2 kms ( 21.3 miles ) daily, I wanted to put in 2 long back to back days with a full weight backpack and Rosa’s plan for the day would see us walk along the coastal path as far as Wicklow town where we would have a easy lunch and then return along the same costal path to Greystones, a round trip of 40 kms ( 25 miles ). The surface was a good mix of short sandy and pebbly stretches with longer stretches of grassy dune tops and concrete breakwaters which would give the boots a good trial.

Nice sunshine was our lot as we set off from Greystones

Rosa’s description of the underfoot surfaces to be encountered was proving to be spot on and exactly what I was hoping for to give the Meindl’s a true test of their suitability.

As we neared Newcastle Nature Reserve, a fine view was to be had of the Big Sugarloaf behind us.

The old railway station at Killoughter now converted in a private house, very reminiscent of the railway halts in the showdown scenes in American Westerns.

Wicklow Town is reached and a nice lunch in the Leitrim Lounge awaits.

On the return trip, Wicklow Head and the old lighthouse can be glimpsed. The lighthouse has been renovated and can be rented as an unusual location for a getaway break.

2 shots of yours truly endeavoring but with not total success to look like the hiking incarnation of James Bond.

My hiking companion Rosa Murray and her regular walking partner Lousha.

The old fishing village at 5 mile point now mainly comprising holiday homes.

A little nearer Greystones can be found the site where the 1st telegraph cable across the Irish Sea was laid and the now derelict cable house.

Although not directly relevant to my hiking or the Camino, we passed by the house of Sean FitzPatrick, former C.E.O. of Anglo Irish Bank and as it is called Camaderry after the steep hill which overlooks Glendalough there is a tenuous hiking/hillwalking connection .