We had managed to jam our four day’s
itinerary into three, hence we were faced with a collection of small options
for the day. The sun showed its face a few times during the morning and the
rain stayed away, at least until we arrived home again.
Our chosen outing yesterday morning
took us east through Gortin, following the B46 until we reached the A505 which
took us even further east, through Cookstown, then joining the B73 we swept
northeast through Croagh to Ballyronan on the shore of Lough Neagh.
My husband had been keen to see the
lake, this the largest freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. In fact it is the
largest lake by area in the entire British Isles, with an area of 392 square
kilometres, about two thirds that of New Zealand’s largest Lake Taupo, which
boasts an area of 616 square kilometres.
Our travel guides give little
attention to this lake, which is most unfortunate, given its geographical
significance. Access to the western shore does seem to be limited although here
at Ballyronan there is a relatively large seventy berth marina, and a shoreline
that encouraged kayaking or even swimming, although neither of these seemed on
the agenda for yesterday; it was so very cold. Our map told us that the Belfast International Airport was there across on the other shore, but deciphering anything on the far shore was impossible from our position on that north west corner of the lough. We huddled in the car out of the wind, drinking our coffee and admiring the views, before stepping out briefly to take a brisk walk around the marina wall.
Beside the launching ramp we spotted a
sign we have seen in several similar spots, a warning about zebra mussels and
aquatic weeds. Apparently this lough is infested with zebra mussels; I do
wonder whether they are edible or at least useful in some processed way.
We headed back into the countryside of
Tyrone, via Magherafelt, a rural service town of significant size and many
Union Jack flags. We were intrigued by all these and wondered if there was some
festival coming up, however a quick Google search brought up reports from just
over a year ago of a flagpole war, between the Unionists and the Nationalists, of
the kind we in New Zealand remember Hone Heke for, a political felling of the
enemies flag, and repeat raising of it. Little changes in this world, and worst
of all, you would hope that a desire for peaceful coexistence in this modern
age would put paid to this kind of infantile behaviour.
I certainly did not feel inclined to
pause and explore this bloody-minded town, so we pressed on, through
Draperstown, and soon following the Glenelly valley, the same travelled in part
a few days earlier. Today with the lack of rain and little sunshine, we were
able to see the tops of the mountain ranges above us. At lovely Plumbridge we
turned back toward Gortin and so to home.
The afternoon was spent in a far more
relaxed fashion than the days that had preceded it. Chris washed the car and
caravan, I vacuumed out and cooked a nice dinner. Helena called mid-afternoon
after returning from work and we stood about for some time discussing her take
on life in Ireland. Alas by now showers swept across the countryside
periodically and temperatures had dropped even further.
We woke so very late this morning, by
which time the sun was up and the rain far away. However in our ever efficiency
we were still packed up and on the road by about 10 am, and on the road back
toward Newtownstewart where we joined the A5 north. This trip up through
Strabane to Derry was exactly the one we had taken just a couple of days ago,
but oh-so different in the sunshine! From Magheramason, the views north up the wide
River Foyle were just lovely, the city of Derry far off and glittering in the
light. As we drove on up the east bank of the river, opposite the walled part
of the city, we could not help but admire the lovely scene before us.
On we went, now on the A2 to Limavady,
then joining the A37 which took us across steeper terrain, with views up toward
Binevenagh, pockets of forest and always the emerald green countryside.
Skirting the city of Coleraine, our Tomtom brought us easily to our base for
the next few days, a quiet pleasant caravan park with excellent facilities. I
took advantage of the laundry and was soon sitting here at the table with
laptop and a great backlog of blog posts and emails to sort out, very happy to
have internet once more.
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