St. Columbus Pilgrim Walk

It's day one of this amazing journey.  We started at breakfast making plans for the day of hiking.  The day started wet, raining and blowing.  Was not sure how it would go and I confess a touch of nerves.  we drove to St. Columbus Church but first got a lesson in bogs, turf, peat and the important of preservation.

A waggel of Peat!

Linda tok the time to explain to use the history of the bog harvesting, how the Irish farmers have struggled with wanting to cut and use the bog for income and the increased push to preserve it.  She shared how the Dutch had come to share information about the downsides of over harvesting the Bog.  We also learned that a farmer could own the field but not the rights to harvest the Bog.

Linda explains how the bog is drained, cut and dried

Linda was a wealth of knowledge!






We then went on to start our hike at the church of St. Columbanus.  We followed the pilgrims path and saw many of the stops they made along the way.

We had one blustery rain storm while still in the van and then off we went.  Another interesting bog fact is that there are thing - evil nasty- no fun things called Bog Hag's that are ruts left in the bog after they have been harvested.  We spent about half the hike navigating over and around theses.  It was like being on a wacky elliptical

The hike started in Glencolmcille  and we walked the cliffs and bog land to the lookout at Glen Head.  The views were spectacular.  I remember thinking how quiet it was - there were no sounds but the sea, the wind and the occasional  Chauf (a blackbird with orange beak and feet).   We saw the watch tower that was built when the Irish thought that Napoleon was going to invade.  These line the coast of Ireland  were manned to watch for the impending invasion.  It was right about this point that the wind picked up and a mini squal came in and out. If you want to know what the weather is in Ireland...wait 5 minutes.... We ate lunch on the cliffs.  Truly amazing sight,  we ended our hike back at the Church of St. Columbanus.

I was happy that I was able to keep up.  Coming in I was not sure what I was going to be able to do.  The hardest part for me was the bog hags.  The up and down was a bit jarring but otherwise kinda fun.  Linda at one point jumped on the bog with all of us standing around, you could feel the vibration like a mini quake!
After we got done Linda took us to a Folk village not too far away for some tea and scones. Reward for a job well done!  I am finding myself slowing down, it is happening quicker than I thought.  Also really working to not think of "what will tomorrow be like" but staying present in the moment I'm in.  The day ended with an amazing dinner at Kitty Kelly's in Killybegs.

Church of St. Columbanus

The first marker 

Still standing since the 6th Century.